Burnt Sugar Ginger Cookies
An avid baker and founder of the blog Displaced Housewives, Rebecca Firth offers this genius twist on the classic ginger cookie: She heats granulated sugar and grated fresh ginger on the stovetop until the sugar liquefies and turns golden brown. After the mixture cools and hardens, she chops it into shards, then stirs them into the cookie dough to create a super-gingery treat. Tuck these sweet gems into gift boxes and present as holiday gifts or serve alongside a cup of hot tea or coffee. If you’d like to make sandwich cookies like the ones shown in the photo, spread some of your favorite buttercream frosting between two cooled cookies and press them together.
Looking for more holiday baking inspiration? Check out our New Holiday Cookie Classics, a collection of recipes from our favorite bakers and bloggers.
Ingredients:
For the burnt sugar ginger:
- 1 cup (8 oz./250 g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tbs. finely grated fresh ginger
For the cookies:
- 16 Tbs. (2 sticks) (8 oz./250 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (12 oz./375 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz./105 g) firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup (5 fl. oz./160 ml) unsulphured molasses
- 1 Tbs. finely grated fresh ginger
- 3 cups (15 oz./470 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 oz./235 g) bread flour
- 1 Tbs. baking soda
- 1 Tbs. ground ginger
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup (4 oz./125 g) granulated sugar for rolling
Directions:
To make the burnt sugar ginger, spray a rimmed baking sheet heavily with nonstick cooking spray.
In a heavy saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and fresh ginger and use your fingers to massage the ginger into the sugar. Set the pan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar liquefies, turns golden brown and no sugar crystals remain. Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and use a spatula to spread in an even layer 1/4 to 1/8 inch (6 to 3 mm) thick. Let stand for 1 hour to cool and harden, then turn out onto a cutting board and cut into shards of 1 inch (2.5 cm) and smaller. Be careful, they’re sharp.
To make the cookies, preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, taking care that each one is fully blended before adding the next. Make sure to frequently scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl so that everything is well blended. Add the molasses and fresh ginger and beat on low speed until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, the baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until combined and you still see streaks of flour. Add the burnt sugar ginger shards and stir until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Place the 1/2 cup (4 oz./125 g) granulated sugar in a small shallow bowl. Roll 2 Tbs. of the dough into a ball and then roll in the sugar to heavily coat. Place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 13 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet. Makes about 46 cookies.
Recipe courtesy of Rebecca Firth, founder of Displaced Housewives
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