Ginger chocolate biscuits
There are some things, that you eat quite happily, then you taste homemade and there’s no going back. Biscuits (or cookies if you prefer) are a good case in point. Although I munch occasionally on a digestive or a bourbon they are a poor relation to the crumbly or chewy morsels that, with very little effort, can emerge from your oven in a short space of time.
Take these chewy ginger chocolate cookies from Joy the Baker for instance. The most arduous part of the recipe is rolling out the dough into balls, but that’s the soothing therapeutic nature of cooking for me (plus I had the audio version of Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel keeping me riveted).
I won’t republish the whole recipe – pop over to Joy for that. But I have converted the ingredients list for people like me who prefer scales to volume. I could actually have a little rant about why weighing is preferable to measuring but Ms Marmite Lover has done it far better than me. In addition to the main argument about consistency and accuracy, I would add that it makes such a mess trying to ladle out an exact cupful of flour or sugar from the bag (and much more washing up).
Anyway, whichever method you choose, do try these. My biscuits have always emerged crisp rather than chewy after 12 minutes but are none the worse for that. I took them to our UAE food blogger picnic and they got the seal of approval. Need I say more?
Sssshhhhh...don't wake Hazel
Chocolate ginger biscuits (for full recipe visit Joy the Baker)
Makes 48 biscuits
340g plain flour
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
155g unsalted butter, softened
185g light brown sugar
1 large egg (55g if you are interested!)
Approx 83g molasses or treacle
Approx 60g dark chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate 70% cocoa solids)
Approx 75g granulated sugar, for rolling dough balls
The oven temperature is 180C
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- Weigh out the flour & spices (or measure if that floats your boat!)
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- Chopped chocolate measured
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- Pouring in the treacle (warm the spoon first)
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- Roll mixture into balls
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- Space out on the baking sheet
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- Keep an eye – one more minute can mean crisp not chewy
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- Leave to cool completely before storing
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- Ginger chocolate biscuits are great with tea
To quote Ms Marmite lover, ‘Are you comfortable with cups? Or do you groove to grams? How do you measure up?’ And what ‘bought’ goods have you made at home that have been a revelation? Let me know.
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My Custard Pie 
I LOVED these! definitely going to try making them. thanks for sharing.
I love the look of these. I like a biccy with a crackled top like that.
I would go for weight over volume every time. Cups are far too imprecise and I get flour everywhere when I measure in cups.
]Choc & ginger, sounds like a great combination.
These look delicious – I love ginger biscuits. I’ve tried making digestives and custard creams at home but neither came out particularly well. Replicating shop-bought is difficult but at least most homemade taste delicious – if different.
I’m a big advocate of weighing ingredients in baking. I can’t understand why everyone doesn’t to be honest. I’m always converting recipes.
Oh yum! I’m so making this. Love ginger with chocolate and everytime we are at the super market, the better half wants to put loads of ginger snaps in the trolley and I hush him off saying I will make him better ones. Its time!
I love these biscuits but have never made them. Great for dunking in a cup of tea.
These cups measurements are driving me crazy. The worst of all is with sugar, especially if not mentioned what kind of sugar since there is a great difference in the weight of one cup powdered and a cup of granulated sugar.
I’ve tried a couple of Joy’s recipes but they were way too sweet for my tooth. But looking at your adaptation of the recipe the sugar contain is ok. Maybe my convertions are wrong.
All this converting thing “smells” like Maths 😉
Ooohh these look lovely. I am quite a good baker but rather hit and miss with biscuits for some reason. I will give these a go and let you know how I get on. Thankyou for your comments sorry your kids forgot, my husband forgot, then tried to make it up by buying me a plant (chrysanthemums – which I hate!!!) still I mustn’t grumble! Have a lovely week, love Linda x
These look like perfect little ginger biscuits. I could just dunk them into a cup of tea! I think I like cup measurements, it avoids a lot of hassle, cup measurements just seem easier to deal with…though I take the point that different sugars can weight less/more etc. Since I;m in the UK I will have to keep my weighing scales for now.
Sally, I have a picture of Maryam devouring this so she obviously approves. Can’t wait for the next FiA picnic to see what you come up with. WE have big expectations from you now after these.
I’m bummed that I didn’t try these at the picnic. I didn’t see them. They sound and look delicious!
Next time, I humbly ask of you to put your beautiful creations on a pedestal where the cross-eyed me will be able to clearly see them before I devour them. Thank you!
Can you believe that I didn’t try this? I don’t know how that happened, maybe I was so food-ed out that I kept it for the end and then forgot about it. argh.
thanks for the step-by-step pics, guess I’ll have to try it at home since I was silly enough to miss it at the picnic!
oooh yes! These were very yummy indeed!
Those cookies look every inch the part of a real cookie – crinkle topped, shimmer of sugar and a toasty brown colour with flavours that make me want to eat, eat, eat. We need to meet up for cookies and bread.
I’m so excited to meet another blogger from UAE! AbuDhabi was my home for a long time 🙂 Loved the neat and clean look of your site and lovely photographs. And oh I have a penchant for ginger cookies. Will try your version, soon.
I made (and posted about) saragli, the Greek version of baklava, recently and was surprised at how easy they were to make at home…and delicious. Love your photos.
very nice cookies……….will try this for sure……….first time in your blog……………..pls visit mine vn u r free………….
http://experimentswithtaste.blogspot.com/
Looks incredible – I’m so impressed!
These look absolutely divine! I got a little ginger “cookied” out after the holidays..made so many….but these may entice me to get back at it! Yum!
I can be ‘chocolated- out’ but never ‘gingered-out’.
Just developed a recipe for the perfect Ginger Biscuits and now you have shown me that I can up the flavor and make them even more sensational with chocolate! Yay! Great recipe!
Yum Sally! I made these and loved them! Thank you!!
I’m so glad. Think I might have to make some more too.
MMMMMMMMMM,…Your biscuits were ooh so tasty & lovely too! Yum! 😉