I’m participating in a Virtual Cookie Exchange organised by Notes from a Cottage Industry. The idea is to do an online bake swap for ideas for yummy Christmas treats. Last weekend I tried out a new recipe for Ginger Crunch from Jason Robert’s Graze and it went down very well (though you DO have to like ginger). I added some chopped crystallised ginger to the icing to make it even more gingery. I think it makes a nice alternative (or addition) to gingerbread so it’s my contribution to the bake swap!
To Christmas it up a bit, instead of cutting it into squares, you can use festive cookie cutters to shape them into Gingerbread men (I’d suggest pre-cutting them before putting on the icing and then cutting them out again after the icing has set).
Ginger Crunch Slice
(note these are Australian metric measurements – here’s a converter if you need it!)
The Crunch Part:
- 250g softened butter
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- a pinch of salt
The Icing Part:
- 1 cup sifted icing sugar
- 60g butter
- 1/4 cup golden syrup
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 1/3 cup crystallised (or candied) ginger, chopped finely
Line a 20×30cm (approx 8″x12″) baking tin with baking paper.
Preheat your oven to 180C (356F). (I did the following all in my stand mixer) Cream the butter and sugar until they are white and fluffy. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt until well combined. It should be thick and sticky.
Press the mixture into the tin so that it is spread out evenly. Let it bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
While the crunch part is happily baking away, mix up the icing. In a saucepan over a low-med heat, melt all the icing ingredients and heat for a further two minutes. Pour over the crunch part while it’s still warn.
Slice into squares (or experiment with cutting it into Christmas shapes!).
Merry Christmas everyone!
