Getting that feeling

It’s mid-November (what? how?!) and the temps have definitely dropped. In fact, it’s been ever so lightly snowing all morning. And with the shift in weather, my thoughts begin to turn to pre-pre-holiday flavours. I’m not in full on festive mode yet, but I am craving warm spices and cozy tastes. Ginger is the taste of November (as you can also see here in my ginger oatmeal cookie).

Hello ginger

Ginger is such a warming spice. It calls to me, beckoning me with it’s fiery siren song, begging to be pulled down from the cupboard (or out of the freezer, where I keep the fresh stuff for grating) for use in more than stir-fries and curries. It has has broad-spectrum antibacterial, antiviral and antioxidant properties, which is perfect as we enter cold and flu season. But more than that, it makes a beautifully comforting cookie.

Gingersnap

I love gingersnaps. So does my son, who will choose them over chocolate chip cookies quite happily. Their rich molasses spice flavour is so homey and warming that I want to enjoy it in other things. So I created this biscotti. Originally I tried it with brown butter, but as with my chocolate chip biscotti, I found the nutty flavour faded away amid the other strong players. So simple melted butter appears here instead (which I love, because now that it’s cold, my butter is often too hard to easily cream into anything, and who wants more work when there are cookies waiting to be made?)

Gingersnap Biscotti

The glaze was simply 1/3 cup of icing sugar with a good splash of pure vanilla and enough heavy cream to create a good drizzling consistency. When chopping candied ginger, it helps to start by wiping the blade with a little oil on a paper towel, repeating as needed.

1 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tablespoon molasses
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

Stir the sugar and butter together. Add the eggs, one at a time and continue to beat for a few minutes until it’s all glossy.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt and add to the butter mixture. Combine well then stir in the candied ginger.

Shape the dough into a log, about 12-inches long and 3-inches wide on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten it slightly and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool slightly (do it, otherwise the log will crumble during the next step, trust me). Slice into 1/2-inch slices and return to the baking sheet. A bench scraper is perfect for this. Bake again until the cookies brown slightly, about ten minutes. Flip them over and let the other side brown another few minutes. Cool and store in an air tight container.

Makes about 24 if you can slice them more accurately than me. I got 20

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