Hibiscus Ginger Ale Recipes

HIBISCUS-GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Pulse the hibiscus flowers 8 to 10 times in a spice grinder until coarsely ground but not powdery. Whisk 1 tablespoon of the ground hibiscus, the flour, ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
• Grate the fresh ginger on the large holes of a box grater. Squeeze out the juice with your hands into a small bowl; discard the solids.
• Beat the butter and 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, lime zest and 1 tablespoon of the ginger juice. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the flour mixture in two batches until combined.
• Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Arrange about 1 inch apart on 2 unlined baking sheets. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are light golden on the bottom, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool 2 minutes on the pans, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the glaze: Whisk the remaining 1 cup confectioners? sugar, 1 teaspoon ginger juice, the lime juice, water and 2 pinches of salt in a medium bowl. Dip the top of each cookie in the glaze to cover evenly; let any excess drip off. Sprinkle with the remaining ground hibiscus. Let set, about 5 minutes.

HIBISCUS GINGER ALE

Steps:

• Add the hibiscus, gingerroot, sugar, lemon juice, salt, and 1 cup water to a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring just to a boil over high heat. Stir to make sure all the sugar has dissolved. Take off heat and steep for 20 minutes. Strain the syrup into a jar, squeezing the solids to extract maximum flavor. Discard the flowers and gingerroot.
• To make soda, stir 3 tablespoons of syrup into 8 ounces of cold carbonated water.
• The syrup will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge, but the flavor of syrups made with fresh flowers may change after a few days.

HIBISCUS-GINGER ICED TEA WITH RUM

Steps:

• Bring 3 1/2 cups water to a boil with 1/3 cup coarsely grated peeled fresh ginger and 3/4 cup sugar; stir to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat, add 3/4 cup dried hibiscus flowers and steep 6 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher, gently pressing on the solids. Stir in 3 cups cold water, 1 cup dark rum and 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice. Chill. Serve over ice.

HIBISCUS-AND-GINGER ICED TEA

Steps:

• Put 4 cups water, ginger, and sugar into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat; add 4 hibiscus tea bags. Cover, and let steep 15 minutes.
• Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl set in an ice-water bath. Let cool. Stir in 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Serve over crushed ice, and garnish with lemon wedges.

HIBISCUS-SPIRALED GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 5 minutes. Add 1 egg and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, candied ginger, salt and ground ginger, and whisk together. Turn the mixer off, add flour mix to the butter all at once and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer speed to low and beat until flour is fully incorporated, scraping the bowl again if needed, about 30 seconds. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, pressing down to form a flat square. Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine the turbinado sugar, hibiscus, edible flowers (if using) and orange zest.
• Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper into a 10-by-13-inch rectangle. Peel off the top sheet of parchment paper. Beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl, and brush the surface of the dough with the egg mixture. Sprinkle the hibiscus mixture over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border along one of the long edges. Press down lightly on the sugar to make sure it adheres to the dough. Turn the dough so that the coated long end is closest to you and, starting from that end, roll the dough into a tight log. Use the bottom sheet of parchment to help lift and roll the dough. Slice the log in equal halves, and wrap each half with 1 sheet of parchment. Refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to slice, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Slice each log into ½-inch rounds. Lay the rounds on the prepared baking sheet, spacing at least ½-inch apart.
• Bake until the cookies are golden at the bottom edges, rotating once halfway through baking, about 22 minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The baked cookies can also be stored frozen in an airtight container for up to 10 days. Thaw at room temperature before serving.

HIBISCUS GINGER TEA

Steps:

• Place hibiscus flowers and ginger in a tea ball.
• Note: If you don't own a tea ball, then you can put the ingredients directly in the water and then strain out later.
• Place tea ball in hot water and steep for 10 minutes.