Last weekend I attempted my first recipe from Rachel Allens ‘Bake’ cookbook. Ginger and honey snaps…
They were unbelievably easy to make. You just need…
225g self-raising flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
100g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra for sprinkling
125g butter, cubed
100g runny honey
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a couple of baking trays with greaseproof paper.
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices into a large bowl with the 100g of caster sugar and mix together well.
Rub the cubes of butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until it has the texture of breadcrumbs.
Heat the honey gently in a saucepan before adding to the other ingredients and using a wooden spoon bring the whole lot together into a smooth dough.
Sprinkle the tablespoon of caster sugar onto a plate and using your hands take a small amount of the cookie dough, roll it into a ball and then roll it around in the sugar before popping it onto the prepared tray, making sure they are about 2 inches apart from each other. To give you an idea of the size that your balls need to be…the recipe should make about 20 cookies. Finally use the back of a fork, dampened slightly, to flatten down each of your cookies before baking them in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until they are medium brown. This is where you need to keep a watchful eye on them and use your judgement because Rachel says that if you let them get too dark they’ll taste bitter…and what Rachel says…goes!
Once you’re happy that they’re the correct shade of brown, take them out of the oven and let them cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring them onto a wire rack.
Mine didn’t get that far before me and my housemate were doing a taste test with a cuppa…
They get the thumbs up from me, apart from the fact that I would definitely class them as a cookie and not a ‘snap’, as Rachel billed them, due to their melt in the middle texture. However maybe I was just too hasty in taking them out of the oven…that’s just the way the cookie crumbles…or doesn’t in this case 🙂
Afternoon Tease 