I'm having a biscuit week in my house, inspired by A World in My Kitchen by Peter Gordon (Hodder Moa, 2003). He often has interesting flavour combinations with modern takes on classics. Elevate your average biscuit in style. This one's all done in a food processor so not much effort needed. The chocolate, ginger and chilli really complement each other, and the nut is ideal to offset the ginger sweetness and add texture.

Makes 24-30

125 g butter, room temperature

120 b demerara sugar

1 egg

1/2 fres...

Continue reading ...

These are like jazzed-up scones straight from Edmonds cookbook. Nice to have a little spice in your scone for a change.

Makes 9
3 c flour
4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
75 g butter
1 egg
2 Tbsp honey
1 c milk
1/2 tsp orange essence
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Topping:
preserved ginger pieces
granulated sugar (I used demerara)

Preheat oven to 200C. Dust a baking tray with flour.
In a large bowl mix in the flour, baking powder and salt. Rub in butter. Make a well in the centre and add in beaten egg and honey dissol...
Continue reading ...

I first made brioche scrolls in during 2020's lockdown. It's not surprising I've had cravings for enriched dough again, since I haven't been able to purchase my favourite brioche at my local cafe, Seabreeze. This recipe yields a smaller amount of dough, but it fits perfectly into a bundt tin to make a beautiful wreath. The dough is best chilled overnight in the fridge to develop flavour so make it the day before you want to eat them!
There are many delicious flavour combos you can use for your...
Continue reading ...

With our impending trip to the snow upon us, I wanted a sturdy, robust cookie that would provide tasty sustenance on the slopes. So I made a spicy molasses cookie and added chocolate chunks - how good?!

Makes 24-26

1 1/2 c flour (I used white and wholemeal spelt)

1/2 c oat flour (oats ground in a coffee grinder)

1 1/2 c sugar (I used a mix of coconut and cane)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

ground spices:

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger (double the ginger if you want a gingernut!)

1/2 ts...

Continue reading ...

I'm rationing my flour supplies in Covid-19 lockdown so trying out some gluten-free recipes. This is a super easy one-pot, one-spoon wonder - you'll be munching in less than 30 minutes.

Makes about 20 cookies

1 c almond butter

3/4 c brown sugar or coconut sugar

1/3 c crystallised ginger, finely chopped

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch sea salt

1 egg

Preheat oven to 165C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a wooden s...

Continue reading ...

We are day 2 of Covid-19 lockdown in New Zealand but the baking doesn't stop. Our daughter chose these for me to make - and I happily obliged. We had all the ingredients in the pantry waiting to be used. It's from Gluten-Free Baking by Kristine Kidd (Weldon Owen, 2014).

Makes about 20 meringues

100g dark chocolate
2 egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch sea salt
3/4 c toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1/3 c crystallised ginger, roughly chopped

Preheat ovent o 165...
Continue reading ...

This is a great basic recipe from which to make any kind of slice and bake cookie - add your favourite flavours and coatings then freeze the dough until you need it. This is adapted from Bake Me Home by Alice Arndell (HarperCollins, 2015).

Makes 60
250g butter, softened
1 1/4 c sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
4 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Flavouring examples
1/2 c each cranberries and pistachios
1/2 c each dark and white chocolate chunks
2/3 c chopped almonds and 1/3 c crystallised gin...
Continue reading ...

I've discovered BabyCakes NYC! Happy new year to me. Erin McKenna opened her BabyCakes bakery in New York in 2005, now renamed Erin McKenna's Bakery. It's vegan and mostly gluten- and sugar-free. I am not vegan or gluten-free but I love to experiment with these recipes especially if baking for friends with these preferences. These gingersnaps turned out really well. I did not have evaporated cane juice so just used some rice malt syrup and decided to sprinkle a bit of muscovado sugar on top. ...
Continue reading ...

This is a European Christmassy recipe from Pease Pudding. The thinner you can roll the dough the better I think. Makes an excellent dunking biscuit. The rye and cardamom add a nice crunchy nutty bite. If you like spicy cookies, check out John's speculaas and Ginny's ninjabread men.
Makes 24-30
150g butter
100g brown sugar
200g spelt flour
100g rye
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 Tbs water
nuts to garnish such as pine nuts or slivered almonds
Prehe...
Continue reading ...

For some reason I'm not a big fan of oranges and I hardly ever buy them. But when I was given some from a friend's tree I decided to take up an orange challenge. First up, these spicy slice bars from The Cookie Book (Fog City Press, 2001). The flaked almonds didn't really stay on top of the slice. Next time I'd ice the slice after it's cooled down and then put the flakes on. They are warmly spiced orangey biscuit.

1 1/2 c self-rising flour (or use flour and some 1 tsp baking powder)
1/3 c brown...
Continue reading ...

Mmm, a nice spicy loaf that's sugar and dairy free. It's from the April/May 2015 issue of Little Treasures magazine. Kelly Gibney founded the Bonnie Delicious blog, full of wholesome recipes.

1 1/2 c dates, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes then drained well

1/4 c melted coconut oil or butter

1 1/2 c ground almonds (can be with or without skins)

1/2 c flour (I used wholemeal spelt)

3 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 heaped tsp baking powder

1 tsp ...

Continue reading ...

By Frances
Cheap pumpkins! So this week I made pumpkin soup, pumpkin granola bars, pumpkin muffins, and froze a batch of pumpkin puree. These muffins are an easy alternative to the carrot version. The cream cheese icing really sets it off.
This recipe is adapted from The Pioneer Woman.

• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup (heaping) Pumpkin Puree
• 1/2 c...

Continue reading ...

By Frances

I never knew a parkin was a traditional cake made from treacle and oatmeal, originating in northern England. This recipe from the 1830s was in Paul Hollywood’s Bread book. They used to measure from a breakfast cup but he’s given the metric equivalent too.

½ c treacle (200g)

½ butter (140g)

½ c brown sugar (120g)

2 c oatmeal (250g)

20g ginger

1 tsp bicarb soda

2 eggs

1 Tbs cider vinegar

 

Melt treacle, butter and sugar. Mix dry ingreds, pour in wet mixture. Stir ...

Continue reading ...

A friend told me that the Little & Friday carrot cake, which I had never tried, was amazing. When I looked at the recipe, I saw it contained dates, which I don't like, so I tweaked it slightly, to accommodate the contents of my house... including using purple instead of orange carrots...


Continue reading ...

Welcome back Ginny from 6 months in NYC! She made these muffins, recipe found at http://www.food.com/recipe/light-rhubarb-ginger-muffins-95490?oc=linkback and tweaked it (used milk instead of coconut milk, and put about double the suggested amount of crystallised ginger)

100 g melted butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup milk, warmed
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 cups finely chopped rhubarb
about 4 tablespoons crystalised ginger, cut up
2...
Continue reading ...

Just the word 'molasses' conjures up deep, hearty flavour, and I really felt like a spiced biscuit with my coffee so I looked it up in the index of The Cookie Book and there was the recipe.

1/2 c / 250g butter
1 c sugar
1 egg
1/4 c molasses
2 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 190C. Line baking sheets with baking paper.
Beat together the butter, sugar, egg and molasses>
Sift together the flour, soda, spices and salt. Add to...
Continue reading ...

John made these fantastic dutch spice cookies for Dave and Ginny's farewell drinks. They're going to New York, hence the DGNY decoration. Very creative.

John's recipe below:
Speculaas spice mix 6.5 g ground cinnamon 2g ground cloves 1.5 g grated nutmeg 1 g ground white pepper 2 g ground aniseed (from star anise) 1g ginger powder 1/2 g cardamon powder these quantities are critical and should be interfered with and changed at will in a wildly uncontrolled manner

Specu...
Continue reading ...

I am a huge fan of an old-fashioned crunchy, thinly-iced ginger crunch.
This recipe isn't like that. It's a bit like a mix between a ginger crunch and an Anzac biscuit (which isn't a bad thing) so I have called it a ginger chew! It's from a cafe in Golden Bay.

Oaty Ginger Chew
150g butter
2 Tbsp golden syrup
3/4C brown sugar
3/4C coconut (I used dessicated)
1 1/2C rolled oats
3/4C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

icing
4 Tbsp butter
8 Tbsp icing sugar
4 Tbsp golden syrup
2 tsp gr...
Continue reading ...

I made these with some left-over gingerbread men dough... this is a basic recipe from taste.com.
I iced them with an icing made with plum powder (natural colour, and nice flavour!)
Continue reading ...

These cookies are adapted from the coffee snaps recipe. They're not gingernuts, but gingery.

125g butter, softened
1 cup (275g) firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup (110g) plain flour
3/4 cup (110g) self-raising flour
3 teaspoons powdered ginger
walnut halves

Preheat oven to 180°C (350° F). Line cookie/oven tray with baking paper.
In a bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy. Add egg and beat until just combined.
Stir in ...

Continue reading ...

This recipe is from Stoked, and makes the real deal, an old-skool proper buttery, crunchy, gingery slice. moreish in the extreme, finger-lickin' good! I tweak it with the addition of a bit of semolina which gives a slightly more textured base.

Base:
115g butter
1/2 C sugar (I use caster)
3/4 C flour
2 Tbs semolina
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger

pre-heat overn to 180C, butter & baking-paper-line a 30x20cm slice tin.
cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powde...
Continue reading ...

Nothing like a steaming hot date pudding with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream!

Recipe from Toast: http://www.toast-nz.com/2010/09/supper-club-4.html

Sticky Ginger Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce
200g dates, chopped
1 1/4 cups boiling water
60g butter
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup golden syrup
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g crystallised ginger, finely chopped (I added powde...

Continue reading ...

I made my ninjabread men (and yes, men, not women, I am informed... ) using a recipe from Simplyrecipes (with adaptations indicated). I found the dough to be quite sticky (even with a bit of extra flour) and that it worked best if frozen. in future, I would freeze the rolled cookie dough, and then cut the cookies out... ginn
Continue reading ...

Almost like shortbread, these biscuits are crisp and buttery.

Makes about 24

175 g butter (or spread)
50 g icing sugar
225 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 190C. Beat butter and sugar until creamy and pale. Add flour, bp and ginger and mix to a dough. Turn out onto a clean surface and knead until mixed.
Roll out to 3-5 mm thick and cut into shapes. I roll inbetween 2 sheets of baking paper.
Bake for 10-12 min until pale golden. Remove from tr...

Continue reading ...

Makes 4

100g pitted dates, finely chopped
¼ boiling water
50g butter, chopped
½ c brown sugar
1 egg
¾ c plain flour
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground ginger
2 Tbs milk
icing sugar to serve

Toffee sauce:
100g butter
½ c cream
½ c brown sugar

Preheat oven 180 C. Place dates and water in a bowl and set aside for 5 mins. Put butter and sugar in bowl and beat until light and creamy. Add egg and beat well. Sift flour and baking powder of the mixture. Add ginger, milk an...

Continue reading ...

This looks like a beauty, Ginny - dark, smooth and most certainly tasty.

Ingredients
Continue reading ...