Ginger biscuits with lemon icing

Bill Granger is one of my favourite chefs. Unfortunately, I don't have pay TV, so I can't see his show. However, I adore Bill's books, of which I now own three. His style of cooking is generally light and flavoursome, with a distinct Asian influence in many of his dishes.

Bill's latest book is Holiday. His recipes are divided into dishes suitable for a number of different holiday seasons.

I chose to make Bill's ginger biscuits with lemon icing for work, which is aptly taken from the Harvest chapter of Holiday, as it is autumn in the Antipodes. These little biscuits are gingery shortbread-style biscuits studded with crystallised ginger as well as containing ground ginger, and are complemented by a lemon icing. The recipe doesn't make a very big batch, so if you are feeding a crowd, I recommend doubling the recipe. These biscuits taste very pleasant, and are relatively small and light, so you can have a couple of these with your morning coffee without spoiling your appetite.

To make these biscuits, you will need:

2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup finely chopped crystallised ginger
200g melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Sift the dry ingredients together into a mixing bowl, and stir through the crystallised ginger. pour in the butter and vanilla and mix into a dough. Place tablespoons of dough on baking trays lined with baking paper, and flatten the biscuits lightly with a fork. Place them in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes, then cool the biscuits on a wire rack.

To ice the cooled biscuits, mix one cup of icing sugar with enough lemon juice to make an icing of piping or drizzling consistency. Pipe or drizzle the icing onto the biscuits. Enjoy with your morning coffee.

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Thanks Rosie!

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Aran of Canelle et Vanille

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