Why choose this recipe for Gingernut Biscuits when there are already so many out there? Well, these ones are deliciously chewy and have the perfect amount of sweet ginger spice. This biscuit recipe has been in our family for 3 generations and while delicious as is, you can also add chocolate chips and almonds, to create a chewy, ginger, chocolate cookie! Oh, and if you prefer a crispier biscuit, then you just cook them longer.
These Gingernut Biscuits are so much better than store bought.
This is a recipe that has been handed down to me from my Mother-in-law, who got it from her Mother-in-law (my husband’s Nan who is no longer with us). I always thought the recipe was my Mother-in-law’s until last week when I asked her for permission to share this recipe. She told me it came from my husband’s Nan, which makes this recipe even more special.
It’s probably the biscuit recipe I bake the most. We all love the flavours and textures. It’s chewy and sweet with the perfect amount of ginger spice. This recipe makes about 40 biscuits, so I always freeze some and it’s so handy having them in the freezer, ready to eat. My son often eats them straight from the freezer ☺️.
This recipe is also a great base recipe for you to add other things if you wish. We often add Chocolate pieces and flaked almonds to ours like in these photos, but they are equally delicious without these additions. When my mother comes to stay, she prefers her biscuits crispy, so I just bake some for a few minutes longer.
I do hope you give this recipe a try. It’s easy to make, especially if you have a stand mixer to do all the mixing for you. Here are a few tips to make this recipe easier, so please read on.
Tips for this recipe:
- Butter – I use salted butter and it must be softened to room temperature before you start this recipe. Sometimes I forget to get it out of the fridge earlier, so I just cut it into 4 pieces and put it in the microwave on a very low setting and just give it a couple of 10 second bursts and then leave it on the bench until it is room temperature soft.
- Eggs – ideally with any baking you do, your eggs should be at room temperature too. With these biscuits, it is preferable, but not necessary. Just make sure you take them out of the fridge as soon as you start the recipe.
- Sugar – plain granulated sugar is used in this recipe.
- Flour – Plain All Purpose flour.
Resting the Biscuit Dough: Do not skip this step. It’s important to rest the dough to allow the butter to solidify again which makes it much easier to roll the dough into balls but it also helps stop the biscuits from spreading out too flat when baking.
For Chewy Biscuits: The baking time for the biscuits is 15-20 minutes. For chewy biscuits, you want them to still be ‘soft’ in the centre when you take them out of the oven, as they will firm up when they are resting out of the oven (as the butter in them starts to firm up). Everyones oven is different, so for chewy biscuits, I would start checking them at the 13 minute mark, as they will be ready closer to 15 minutes than 20 minutes.
For Crispy Biscuits: The bake time for crispier biscuits is going to be closer to the 20 minute mark, so start checking them at 17 minutes. They will definitely become more golden with the slightly longer baking time. Again every oven is different, but they will be ready somewhere closer to the 20 minute mark.
These biscuits are also suitable to freeze. I bake them and freeze them once they are cooled. Freeze in an airtight container or snaplock freezer bags. They are very handy to have in the freezer to pop straight into your children’s lunch boxes. This recipe makes approx 40 biscuits.
If you’d like more biscuit ideas, here are my Anzac Biscuits recipe.
More chocolate ideas? Check out my Chocolate Brownies, Chewy Chocolate Coconut Slice, or Torta Caprese recipes!
Or try my favourite friand recipe, Pistachio Blueberry Friands. They are so delicious!
Equipment
- Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
- Baking Trays
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- 250 g salted butter softened to room temperature
- 500 g white granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
Dry Ingredients:
- 500 g plain flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 6 tsp ground ginger
Optional extras: (see notes)
- 1 c chocolate chips or similar milk or dark chocolate (I use milk)
- 3/4 c flaked almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 150°C fanbake. Line baking tray/s with baking paper.
For Wet Ingredients:
- Add softened butter and sugar to the bowl of a Stand Mixer and using the beater or whisk attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until it changes colour (5-10 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times with a spatula to enable everything to be incorporated. Then add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition. Lastly add the golden syrup and beat again until combined.
For Dry Ingredients:
- While the butter and sugar are creaming, sift together all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together with a spoon to combine.
- Once the eggs and golden syrup have been added and combined to the wet ingredients, it’s time to mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. This can be done in 2 ways:Stand Mixer: Change the attachment on the Stand Mixer to the Dough Hook. Add approximately half the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar and mix through for a few seconds, then add the remainder of the dry ingredients and mix again until it is well combined and forming a dough. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times with a spatula. Add any optional extras at this stage and mix again for a few seconds.By Hand: Using a large spoon, add half the dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture and mix through. Add the rest of the dry ingredients, along with any optional extras and mix until combined. It’s quite a firm dough, so make sure you get everything from the bottom mixed in as well.
- Once dough is made, refrigerate for 15-20 minutes to allow the dough to firm up a little. This makes it easier to roll into balls and it also solidifies the butter a little which helps in the baking process.
- Once rested, roll the dough mixture into walnut sized balls and place them on the lined baking trays, leaving 5cm between each ball as they will spread (do not flatten the balls). Repeat with remaining dough until you've filled your trays. As this recipe makes approximately 40 biscuits, you might have to bake them in batches if you don’t have enough trays, so pop any remaining dough back into the fridge until your first biscuits are baked.
- Cook at 180°C or 150°C fanbake, for 15-20 minutes or until slightly coloured and little cracks are on top of the biscuits. See notes for baking times for chewy vs crispy biscuits. If you prefer a chewier biscuit, don’t let them colour too much.Remove from the oven and allow the biscuits to rest for 2-5 minutes on the baking tray. For chewier biscuits, only rest them on the trays for 2 minutes.Once rested on the trays, carefully place them onto a wire cooling rack to continue cooling to room temperature. Storage: Once cooled, store the biscuits in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Biscuits can also be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container or a glad snap lock freezer bag.
Notes
Tips for this recipe:
- Butter – I use salted butter and it must be softened to room temperature before you start this recipe. If I forget, I just cut it into 4 pieces and put it in the microwave on a very low setting and just give it 10 second bursts until it is room temperature soft.
- Eggs – ideally with any baking you do, your eggs should be at room temperature. With these biscuits, it is preferred, but not necessary. Just take them out of the fridge as soon as you start the recipe.
- Sugar – plain granulated sugar is used in this recipe.
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