Gingered Shortbread Recipes

GINGER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Butter an 8 1/2-inch cake or springform pan; set aside. Sift together flour and salt into a small bowl; set aside. Place butter in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Cream until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar, and continue to beat until very light in color and fluffy, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, about 2 minutes more. Add vanilla, if using. Add flour mixture, and combine on low speed, scraping with spatula if necessary, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
• Pat dough into prepared pan. If rolling out dough to cut into shapes, form into a flat disk; wrap in plastic. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Sift 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, a pinch of ground cloves, and a pinch of pepper with flour and salt. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. Cut out gingerbread men using a 3-inch cutter; sprinkle with crystal sugar; chill.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake until firm, about 30 minutes.

GINGER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Cream the 4 ozs butter with the sugar.
• Combine flour, 1 tsp. ginger, and baking powder; add to the butter mixture.
• Put into a greased shortbread pan (or a 7-8" round or square baking pan) and bake at 325 F (170 C) for about 40 minutes or until done.
• While the shortbread is baking, prepare the icing: melt together the butter, ginger, and golden syrup in a saucepan over low heat until blended and smooth.
• Pour the icing over the hot shortbread and let it cool a little.
• When the icing has cooled a bit, decorate the top with pieces of candied ginger.
• Cut shortbread into shapes (wedges or rectangles).
• Cool completely before removing from pan.
• *Note:You may leave out the candied ginger- some may find it too spicy, especially children.

GINGER SHORTBREAD CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Whisk the flour, ginger and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, brown sugar and molasses in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually beat in the flour mixture until incorporated.
• Roll out the dough until 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies with 3-inch cookie cutters; arrange 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Gather the scraps and reroll to cut out more cookies. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.
• Whisk the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth and thick. Transfer the icing to a small resealable bag. Snip a small corner and decorate the cookies. Let set 15 minutes.

GINGERED SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9 1/2-inch springform pan.
• In a medium bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer at high speed, beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light in color and texture, about 2 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour, rice flour, and ground ginger to make a soft dough. Stir in the crystallized ginger. Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Using the tines of a fork, press around the perimeter of the dough. Prick the dough, reaching down to the bottom of the pan, into 12 wedges.
• Bake until lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in the pan. Remove the sides of the pan. Cut or break the shortbread into wedges, following the perforations in the dough. (The shortbread can be prepared up to 5 days ahead, stored in an airtight container at room temperature.)

CANDIED GINGER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Butter an 8 1/2-inch cake or springform pan; set aside. Sift 2 teaspoons ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper with the flour and salt into a small bowl; set aside. Place butter in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Cream until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar, and continue to beat until very light in color and fluffy, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, about 2 minutes more. Add vanilla, if using. Add 1/2 cup finely chopped candied ginger to the creamed butter-and-sugar mixture before adding the flour mixture. Add flour mixture, and combine on low speed, scraping with spatula if necessary, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
• Pat the dough into pan or pans. Sprinkle 1/4 cup chopped ginger and 1 tablespoon crystal sugar over each pan before baking.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake until firm and just starting to color, 30 to 40 minutes.

GINGER SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, ground ginger, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in walnuts and crystallized ginger., Shape into two 10-in. rolls; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets., Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

GINGER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Mix flour to salt ingredients well.
• Cream butter and sugar together and add to dry ingredients.
• Fold in crystallized ginger. Mixture will be crumbly.
• Place in a buttered 9x9 inch pan and bake at 350* for 45 minutes.
• Cut while still warm.

SPICY GINGER SHORTBREADS

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, lemon peel and egg yolk with electric mixer on medium speed. Stir in 1 1/4 cups flour and the five-spice powder until dough holds together. Stir in ginger and pecans.
• Place dough on smooth surface sprinkled with 1 tablespoon flour. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into 6-inch log. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray, or line with cooking parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheet.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave baking chips uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring once, until softened and chips can be stirred smooth. Stir in powdered sugar and water. Add additional water, if needed, to achieve glaze consistency. Drizzle glaze over cookies. Let stand until set.

CURRANT-GINGER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add flour, salt, currants and ginger, and mix until well blended, about 3 minutes. Gather dough into a ball and flatten slightly.
• Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper (or use nonstick baking mat). Place dough on paper or mat and roll out into a 10-inch square, an even 1/4-inch thick. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Position an oven rack in center of oven. Heat to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 10 1-inch-wide strips (if using mat, remove dough to a cutting surface first). Cut each strip into 1 1/2-inch-long rectangles. Gather and roll out scraps and cut out more cookies. (Triangles or cookie cutter shapes can be made as an alternative to rectangles.)
• One sheet at a time, bake until edges are lightly golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack and cool completely before storing in airtight containers up to 1 week.

LEMON & GINGER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and grease a 22cm loose-bottomed fluted tart tin. Put the butter in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until soft. Beat in the sugar, then stir in the lemon zest and ginger.
• Stir in the flour and work with your hands to form a soft dough. Tip into the tin and press into an even, flat layer with your fingers. Prick all over with a fork and bake in the oven for 40 mins until pale gold. Cut into wedges then leave to cool completely in the tin. Remove from the tin and dust with caster sugar to serve.

MARBLED SHORTBREAD WITH GINGER AND TURMERIC

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ground ginger and baking powder.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, beat together butter, sugar, salt and orange zest until lightened and fluffy, about 3 minutes, using a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• In a small bowl, crack the egg and whisk to lightly break up the yolk. With the mixer running on low speed, stream the egg into the creamed butter base to combine. Stop and scrape once again, paying close attention to the bottom of the bowl where the batter likes to sit, then add the freshly grated ginger and mix again on low speed just to incorporate.
• Stop the mixer, scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula and add the flour mixture. Turn the mixer back to low speed to combine. When the mixture has just come together (about 30 seconds), remove the bowl from the mixer and clean off the beater with a spatula. Fold the mixture well to make sure there are no pockets of flour. Remove one quarter of the dough (about 8 ounces/225 grams) back to one of the bowls.
• Return the larger portion of dough to the mixer and add the cashews and white chocolate just until just incorporated, 10 to 15 seconds; transfer the dough to a cutting board or work surface.
• Transfer the quarter portion of dough to the mixer; add the orange juice and turmeric and mix until just incorporated, scraping with a rubber spatula as needed to combine mixture evenly. Remove the bowl from the mixer, fold over the dough a few times in the bowl, and place on your work surface.
• Roughly divide the larger piece of dough into 3 pieces and your smaller turmeric-stained piece in half. Starting and ending with the larger pieces, sandwich the turmeric dough in an alternating pattern. Roll this sandwiched cookie formation into a log just to round, then fold it in half over itself, twisting it slightly as you do, and roll the log out again. (If the dough feels too sticky, use a bench knife or bowl scraper to help you move the dough around or sparingly dust the log with flour.)
• Twist and fold the dough one more time (do not roll out). You should end up with a striated yellow-and-off-white mound of dough. Transfer to a parchment-lined 9-by-13-inch sturdy baking sheet with a 1-inch depth, and shape the dough into a 6-by-8-inch rectangle. Layer another piece of parchment over the dough, and use a rolling pin, roll back and forth over the edges of the pan to level and smooth the surface of the dough. (The pan edges support in creating an even thickness. If you do not have a pan with 1-inch depth, use a ruler to check your thickness.) Remove the parchment paper and use a bench knife or your hands to square off the edges slightly. No need to obsess, you'll trim later, cover once more with parchment and roll over with your pin to smooth the surface again.
• Leaving the parchment paper on top, transfer the dough on the pan to the freezer for 1 to 2 hours to chill until firm. (If you are chilling it overnight or longer, it's best to wrap the dough with plastic wrap.)
• When your dough is chilled, heat the oven to 300 degrees and move the racks to lower and upper middle positions.
• Remove the block of dough from your freezer. Trim one long side and the adjoining short side to make a right angle, discarding scrap. Orient the block like a portrait and, using a ruler, measure and mark at 2-inch intervals at the top and bottom of your block. Using these markings and the ruler for a straight edge score, cut the block into three long, 2-by-8-inch logs of dough. (If you're not baking the logs right away, you can wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 1 month.)
• Working with one log at a time, slice into 1/4-inch-thick cookies. Lay sliced cookies onto parchment-lined baking sheets with at least 1/2 inch in between. (They do not spread much during baking). Bake cookies until they appear set, are bright yellow on top and the white chocolate appears a deep golden on the bottom, 13 to 15 minutes total, rotating trays at 8 minutes to ensure even coloring.
• Remove trays from the oven and let cookies cool. (Transfer to a cooling rack if you'd like to speed this process up.) Repeat with remaining cookies, unless freezing for future use. Store cooled cookies in covered tins or other airtight containers for several weeks.

GINGER SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with foil, extending foil 2 inches on 2 opposite sides of pan.
• In large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until fluffy. On low speed, beat in flour, ground ginger and nutmeg until crumbly. Stir in crystallized ginger. Press dough firmly in pan. Prick surface generously with fork.
• Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until light golden brown and set. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan by lifting foil. To make 24 squares, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows by pressing down with a long knife (do not use sawing motion). Cut each square diagonally in half to make triangles. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate uncovered on High 1 minute. Stir; microwave 30 seconds longer, stirring every 15 seconds, until completely melted. Dip one short, flat edge of each triangular cookie in chocolate; if necessary, shake off any excess chocolate. Place on waxed paper; let stand until chocolate is set before storing between layers of waxed paper in loosely covered container.

GINGER SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine flour, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, ground ginger and salt in medium bowl. Combine crystallized ginger and 1 tablespoon sugar on work surface; chop finely.
• Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light. Add lemon peel and extracts. Beat in crystallized ginger mixture. Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture in 4 additions.
• Transfer dough to floured work surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into 6-inch log. Shape each log into 2x1x6-inch-long rectangular log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly butter 2 large baking sheets. Cut each dough log into 1/3-inch-thick cookies. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart (cookies will spread slightly during baking). Bake cookies until edges are pale golden, about 24 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets 3 minutes. Using metal spatula, transfer cookies to racks. Sift additional powdered sugar over warm cookies, if desired. Cool completely. (Can be made ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.)

ICED GINGER SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a 20cm square baking tray. Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Sift in the flour and ginger, then mix together with a knife. Using lightly floured hands, bring the mixture together to form a dough, then spread it into the greased baking tray. Bake for 30 mins until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly.
• For the icing, melt the butter and syrup in a pan. Remove from the heat, sift in the icing sugar and ginger, then mix until smooth and glossy. Cool until almost cold and beat well again. Spread the icing over the shortcake using a palette knife, decorate with chopped crystallised ginger and serve cut into slices.