Stem ginger biscuits

[FrogPrincesse]

I've become addicted to these "stem ginger biscuits" that I bought in England. They are little cookies that are relatively hard, crumbly, with a very nice butter flavor and an even nicer ginger flavor ("fiery" as the description reads). And they are absolutely perfect with tea. But it's an expensive habit - ~ $12 for a 200 g tin. Plus my supply is long gone.

 

So I am looking for a good recipe. Does anybody have one?

 

For reference the ingredients are: wheat flour, salted butter (22%), sugar, invert sugar syrup. stem ginger (9%), eggs, ground ginger, sodium bicarbonate.

[ElainaA]

In my area (upstate NY) stem ginger is hard to find - for about 2 weeks in late September I can get It at my local farmer's market. I sometimes find it in NYC's Chinatown at about the same time. Regular ginger just doesn't substitute.

Elaina

[Deryn]

You can buy stem ginger preserved in jars. FrogPrincesse - I don't have a recipe for that particular cookie but at the holidays I often make shortbread cookies with stem ginger in them (from a jar) - because I am addicted to ginger. No eggs mind you but perhaps if you can't get the exact recipe you might try a shortbread version?

[lesliec]

But would they go with a tiki?  (Answer: yes, probably!)

 

I have a couple of good ginger biscuit recipes, but neither looks quite like the Fortnum & Masons' ones.  And neither specifies stem ginger; both use a mix of powdered and crystallised ginger, and one asks for a small amount of fresh ginger as well.  But I can't see why stem ginger wouldn't substitute for crystallised if you wanted to; it might affect the sweetness or wetness of the mix, but not too much.

 

I only have one of the recipes as a scanned image on my phone of a magazine I found in the doctor's waiting room recently and haven't transcribed yet, but here's the other, from a local magazine called Taste a few years ago.  The author was Julie Leclerc:

 

Ginger Cookies

• 250g butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark cane or soft brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence (I use about a quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract)
• 2 cups flour (why she mixes weight and volumetric measurements I can't imagine!)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 2 Tbsp ground ginger
• 200g crystallised ginger, chopped

Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy.  Sift the dry ingredients over, add the crystallised ginger and beat to combine - be gentle and don't over-mix or the cookies will be tough.  Divide the mix in half, roll into logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

 

Heat the oven to 180°C.  Slice the logs into 1cm slices (this gives me a lot of trouble - they crumble all over the place and I usually have to end up squeezing each slice more or less into shape).  Lay them out on baking trays, leaving a bit of space for them to spread, and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until they're crisp and golden.  Cool on wire racks.

 

If it weren't for the fact they're delicious, the crumbly stage would have put me off making them again.  Maybe you'll have more luck.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Hey, FrogPrincesse.

 

Your inquiry intrigued me because I'd never heard of "stem" ginger, but I love ginger and shortbread.

 

I Googled both stem ginger and said biscuits, and a Jamie Oliver forum topic came up on the first page when I looked for "stem ginger biscuits".

 

The OP is from Germany and looking for exactly what you are. There are two responses w/recipes: one from England or Scotland for Scottish Ginger Shortbread, and one from Australia with Stem Ginger Biscuits.

 

The OP makes the recipe for the Scottish version, and reports her results.

 

I hope someone from eG who's actually made these will be more helpful than I can, but for now, you can learn more about them, if you like, to get more ideas about a recipe from someone who loves them like you do, and has actually made them.

[Bill Klapp]

I just found Walker's version for the first time in Italy, along with Walker's Shortbread, and the Stem Ginger Biscuits were outstanding. Not even remotely related to the ginger snap, and perhaps twice as thick as those pictured and a bit chewy, as well as crunchy. More akin to a crispy, whole-grain cookie with dried cherries or cranberries inside, but with a powerful ginger punch instead...

Edited October 21, 2014 by Bill Klapp (log)

[Amy D.]

Not a recipe but I thought it might help your search to note that they look like a gingernut style biscuit (though a dainty example). Stem ginger shortbread is lovely (&I think I'll gave to be making a batch later) it's more likely to provide another addiction than replace this one.

[LindaK]

I regularly add lots of finely chopped crystallized ginger to butter cookie dough, and if you have any ginger syrup to sub for a bit of the sugar even better. Let the dough rest overnight in the fridge to boost the flavor.  it's not the same thing as your biscuit, but it's still awfully good.  I like to add a bit of orange zest too.

 

 

[Deryn]

Found a recipe on the following site:  http://clarkfamilyhandbook.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/stem-ginger-cookies-super-yummy-and-a-really-easy-recipe-that-always-works/ that appears to have an ingredient list similar to that you mentioned for the F&P biscuits. It is apparently from The Great British Book of Baking. It does contain an egg.

 

There is a picture of the finished product and the top doesn't look as nice and smooth as the ones from F&P you crave, and the author of that blog says they are chewy (not crunchy), but maybe this one is close in taste?

 

Not sure if it is both taste and texture you want, or if one is more important than the other to you but you might be able to modify this (or another) recipe to satisfy both criteria.

Edited October 21, 2014 by Deryn (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Stem Ginger Biscuits FP style - ver1

 

 

Not there yet!  But a very yummy biscuit.

 

185 grams flour

1/2 tsp soda

120 grams butter melted

110 grams sugar

20 grams golden syrup

1 egg

1 tbsp water

2 tsp ground ginger

chunks of stem ginger

 

350 for about 13 minutes.

Edited October 21, 2014 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Version 2 underway 

185 grams flour

1/2 tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger

170 grams butter melted

110 grams sugar

35 grams golden syrup

1 large egg (65 grams)

30 grams water

 

50 grams stem ginger chopped

Edited October 21, 2014 by Kerry Beal (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Thanks to everyone for the ideas and recipes so far. You are amazing.

 

Kerry, you are incredible for going the extra mile and testing a recipe for me (with a photo too)!

Appearance-wise, you are on the right track for sure. (The F&M photo makes the cookies appear very thin, but they were more similar to your photo.)

[Kerry Beal]

Version 2 - nope!

 

 

Just happens I came up with some stem ginger that I had candied 2 days before we left - it's totally over crystallized - so perfect for this project.  

 

Next version - will go with solid butter.  

 

[Kerry Beal]

Third time might just be the charm.  Though I kind of like cookie number 1 a whole lot.

 

 

You'd be making them a whole lot smaller though!  And chopping the ginger a bit finer.

 

140 grams flour

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

120 grams butter

110 grams sugar

20 grams golden syrup

2 tsp ginger

1 large egg

50 or so grams chopped stem ginger

 

350 for 13 to 15 minutes

[FrogPrincesse]

My goodness you are fast. Thanks again for test driving these various recipes.

 

Step 1 for me - look for stem ginger at the supermarket!

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I'm going to try version 1 of Kerry's recipe.

 

First I have to get to the S-Mart for ginger where it's fresh and cheap. I'll have to make my own stem ginger, but I just bookmarked a recipe for it. The recipe just calls for ginger, sugar and water.

 

Kerry, is that how you make your preserved ginger?

[Kerry Beal]

I'm going to try version 1 of Kerry's recipe.

 

First I have to get to the S-Mart for ginger where it's fresh and cheap. I'll have to make my own stem ginger, but I just bookmarked a recipe for it. The recipe just calls for ginger, sugar and water.

 

Kerry, is that how you make your preserved ginger?

Yup - added a bit of glucose towards the end too - but it didn't stop it from crystallizing because I was paying no attention to how much I'd cooked it.  Andie's recommendation would be to steam the ginger until tender first - I did steam rather than boiling as some recipes suggested.  

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Hey, Kerry,

 

Thanks for the response. I am frankly awed to be conversing with the human dynamo I've admired (oh let's be honest, dang near worshiped) for years. I couldn't accomplish all you do with three or five clones. You're an amazing lady!

 

You save lives, raise a seriously challenged child, take care of a husband, and cook up a storm, seem to have a whole lot of fun with life, yet you still have time to lend a hand to lesser human beings like me. I will never forget your foray into salt-raising bread. It was intriguing and more than a little scary. Gangrene bacterium? Yikes! You are intrepid.

 

The steaming of the ginger, I'd guess is to concentrate more of the the ginger flavor in the actual ginger I guess. I'm also enamored of the idea of a strongly flavored syrup that I can think of several uses for off the top of my head. So I think I'll boil it this time, but I'll definitely keep the steaming idea in mind, especially if too much flavor leaches out of my ginger.

 

I've found from a recipe in the "Joy of Cooking," that simmering ginger and garlic longer than the 15 minutes called for in the recipe destroys flavor. Since you throw out both ginger and garlic, I thought a longer simmer would extract more flavor, but I should've trusted Irma.

[MelissaH]

What is the difference between stem ginger and the ginger in the produce section? Is stem ginger just candied ginger?

[Kerry Beal]

What is the difference between stem ginger and the ginger in the produce section? Is stem ginger just candied ginger?

Stem ginger is the candied stuff in liquid.

[Kerry Beal]

Hey, Kerry,

 

Thanks for the response. I am frankly awed to be conversing with the human dynamo I've admired (oh let's be honest, dang near worshiped) for years. I couldn't accomplish all you do with three or five clones. You're an amazing lady!

 

You save lives, raise a seriously challenged child, take care of a husband, and cook up a storm, seem to have a whole lot of fun with life, yet you still have time to lend a hand to lesser human beings like me. I will never forget your foray into salt-raising bread. It was intriguing and more than a little scary. Gangrene bacterium? Yikes! You are intrepid.

 

The steaming of the ginger, I'd guess is to concentrate more of the the ginger flavor in the actual ginger I guess. I'm also enamored of the idea of a strongly flavored syrup that I can think of several uses for off the top of my head. So I think I'll boil it this time, but I'll definitely keep the steaming idea in mind, especially if too much flavor leaches out of my ginger.

 

I've found from a recipe in the "Joy of Cooking," that simmering ginger and garlic longer than the 15 minutes called for in the recipe destroys flavor. Since you throw out both ginger and garlic, I thought a longer simmer would extract more flavor, but I should've trusted Irma.

I think I'm a few years away from beatification yet - still need to take the ferry to the island as my water walking skills are underdeveloped!  

 

If you use the water that you've cooked the ginger in to add the sugar to - then you might not lose the flavour that has been leached into it.  Unlike pre boiling steps for things like orange rind which gets rid of bitterness where you need to toss the boiling water.  

 

The steaming (or boiling) is to cook and soften the ginger - otherwise you get rather firm little nubbins.   

Edited October 22, 2014 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Kerry, you made me laugh with delight on the "walking on water" bit. :-) Some of us think you actually do, though.

 

Sad to see y'all leave Manitoulin, but I'll eagerly await your return visit and blog.

 

The English girl's recipe for stem ginger definitely keeps the boiling water.

 

Thanks again for the recipes for ginger biscuits and the rich, rich content you contribute to this site.

 

I wish you and Anna a very safe trip home.

[FrogPrincesse]

Finally I have a weekend at home and the opportunity to do some baking...

[FrogPrincesse]

[ElainaA]

Is the 'stem ginger' in these recipes all candied? Stem ginger actually is young fresh ginger - the kind that is pink and white and very tender - but not candied. I use it for ginger jelly and in stir fries as well as ginger tea.  I have recently been given some lovely fresh stem ginger and would like to try these cookies - but do I need to candy the ginger first?

Elaina