Ginger and Cinnamon biscuits

There's nothing like a biscuit and a brew!

Biscuits are as British as a cup of tea. Everyone has their own favourites - digestives, custard creams, shortbread, wafers, or chocolate bourbons – the choice is endless. Strangely, however, despite the pastime of home-baking reaching epidemic proportions, how many of us actually make our own? Perhaps it’s time, amidst all the talk of diets and the evil of sugar etcetera, to bake our own biscuits occasionally, as a treat, rather than simply placing a factory-made biscuit packet in our shopping basket each week at the supermarket? Just a thought!

A National Trust recipe for traditional Northumbrian Ginger and Cinnamon biscuits caught my eye this week and the spicy results had a satisfying crunch to the edges with a slight chewy texture in the centre. My ideal accompaniment for a steaming afternoon brew! Enjoy…..

Melt 170g butter, 170g soft brown sugar, and 4 tablespoons of golden syrup in a saucepan, or microwave. Sift together 300g plain flour and 2 teaspoons each of bicarbonate of soda, ground cinnamon and ground ginger. Pour the melted ingredients onto the flour and mix well. Leave to cool until it is possible to roll walnut-sized balls of dough into rounds (slightly damp hands are good for this). Place on baking sheet well apart to allow for spreading. Bake for approximately 15 minutes at 160C or Gas mark 3. They will still be soft when hot but will harden when cooled on a wire rack.

Ingredients

Melt butter, sugar and syrup

Spaced well apart on baking tray