whisks' favourite gingerbread cookies

when my best friend from high school told me she liked gingerbread cookies, i set upon a journey to find a recipe for gingerbread cookies, and this is what i came up with. generally, i like to bake them slowly so they don't burn, yet come out firm. they do soften nicely and the flavours develop beautifully. once rested, this is a beautiful dough to work with and smells divine.

1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
125 grams butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup golden syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
a few strips lemon rind (optional)

place flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and lemon rind in the thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 10 until well blended. set aside.
place butter, brown sugar, egg, golden syrup and vanilla into the thermomix bowl and combine for 10 seconds on speed 5. scrape down bowl and combine again for 5 seconds on speed 5.
add the flour mixture which was set aside earlier to the thermomix bowl and combine for 10 seconds on speed 6.
set dial to closed lid position and knead for 40 seconds on interval speed.
divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours. this dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. return to room temp before using.
preheat oven to 170°C.
line cookie sheets with baking paper.
place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface.
sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.
roll dough to a scant 2mm thick.
use additional flour to avoid sticking.
cut out cookies with desired cutter.
space cookies 3cm apart.
bake 1 sheet at a time for 10-15 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies-- very good!).
remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.
after cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like - they look wonderful decorated with royal icing.

chinese flavoured stock concentrate

i thought i'd take yesterday's vegetable stock concentrate a step further and make a chinese version. i realise mine is not authentic by any stretch of the imagination, but it works for me, and that's what matters.

1/2 cup rice bran oil
250 grams garlic, peeled
500 grams ginger, peeled and sliced
some spring onions, chopped
100 grams salt

place everything into a blender and blitz until everything is pureed.
scrape it all out of the blender jug into a non stick saucepan and heat gently until everything is bubbling away, and allow to do so for a good five to ten minutes. stir the pot every so often to make sure the mixture doesn't catch.
decant into sterelised jars and put the lids on immediately and invert the jars so a vacuum will be created once the puree cools. refrigerate and use within six months.

one tablespoon will flavour up to a litre of water and would make a good poaching stock for chicken. this is also pretty good stirred through noodles and can be used as a dipping sauce for the poached chicken (a la hainanese chicken). a bit of sesame oil mixed in wouldn't go astray either.

gingerbread dough for cut out cookies

i love this dough because it is so nice to work with and smells so nice.

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 self raising flour
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
125 grams butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup golden syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)

in a small bowl, whisk together flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended.

in a large bowl beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended.

add golden syrup, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended.

gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.

divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours. dough can be stored for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. return to room temp before using.

preheat oven to 180° celcius.

place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface.

sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.

roll dough to 3 millimetres thick.

use additional flour to avoid sticking.

cut out cookies with desired cutter-- the gingerbread man is favorite, of course.

place the cookies on baking sheets lined with baking paper

bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies which are very good!).

remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.

after cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like.

ginger crunch by whisks

ginger crunch is wonderful - a crunchy biscuit base smothered with ginger flavoured icing topped with little bijoux pieces of crystalised ginger. it's a very old fashioned slice popular in both new zealand and australia, and whilst it has ginger in it, it is only mildly spicy and is much loved by lots of people - miss c and miss k bring it to school and have friends clambering for it, and when i bring it for the life line volunteers, i suddenly have the lovely ladies there hugging me.

it seems to turn out best when the base has been baked a beautiful golden colour - if the oven doesn't heat evenly, consider rotating the baking tin to acheive an even gold.

125 g butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup self raising flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger

icing

90 grams butter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
2 teaspoons ground ginger
10 pieces crystallized ginger, chopped

preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
cream the butter and sugar in a medium sized bowl.
add the flour and ground ginger and mix well.
lightly press the mixture into a shallow sided baking tin measuring approximately 27cm x 17cm or 20cm square, lined with baking paper. be gentle when pressing the base into the tin - you don't want the base to be rock hard - you want it to have some crunch and still melt in the mouth.
bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
during the last few minutes of baking, combine all the icing ingredients in a small saucepan and melt over a low-medium heat, stirring constantly. i like to use a whisk to mix the icing so there aren't any lumps. i love using a whisk.
remove the biscuit base from the oven and immediately pour the hot icing mixture as evenly as possible over the hot base. try to distribute the crystallised ginger evenly on top.
remove the slice from the baking tin when it has cooled by lifting the baking paper up and using it to help slide the slice onto a cutting board.
cut the slice into pieces as desired.
share the ginger crunch with someone - it's a nice thing to do and it makes the slice taste even better.