Ginger Spiced Butter Cookies Dipped in Dark Chocolate
This recipe for ginger spiced butter cookies was first published on my previous blog, The Culinary Jumble, in November 2016. The recipe has been updated to include spelt flour, but the images remain the same.
There’s something about the approaching festive season that makes me want to had ginger to everything. Nothing has escaped it. From gingerbread dark chocolate brownies, to gingerbread chocolate honeycomb, they are all rocking a touch of spice. This time, it is butter cookies that have undergone a seasonal tweaking.
Dark chocolate goes fabulously well with ginger, so decided to finish the cookies off by dipping them in melted chocolate.
Finally, I sprinkled a little of the crumbs leftover from when I made my chocolate honeycomb. You could decorate them with anything you like, or just leave them as they are.
These ginger spiced butter cookies have a hit of mild spice which becomes more noticeable the longer they are left. However, they are most definitely not gingerbread cookies.
Surprisingly, after a couple of days they were just as crisp as when they came out of the oven. I’ve found that cookies often go a little soft when left for a while, but not these little gems!
The measurements below will make around 20-30 cookies, depending on which cutter you use. They don’t have to be hearts – with Christmas rapidly on its way, these would be perfect in a tree shape, for example.
Ginger Spiced Butter Cookies Dipped in Dark Chocolate
Ingredients
- 100g ( ½ cup + 3 tbsp) icing sugar
- 230g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) butter (softened)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 280g (2 cups) flour (see note 1)
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Decoration:
- 175g (6¼ oz) good quality dark chocolate (chopped into pieces)
- crushed cinder toffee (see note 2)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 175°C. Prepare a large baking tray (you may need two) with grease-proof paper.
- Beat the sugar, butter and vanilla extract together until light and fluffy.
- Sift the flour, vanilla sugar and spices together, then mix into the butter/sugar until a dough forms.
- Using your hands, quickly work the dough into a ball, then divide it into two pieces.
- Take one piece and roll out between two sheets of grease-proof paper, until it is fairly thin.
- Take your chosen cookie cutter and cut out the dough, using a palette knife to help move the cookie onto the baking tray (keeping space between each on as they do spread a little).
- Repeat with the other half of dough.
- Bake for around 8-12 minutes (depending on their size), just until the edges are browning. The rest of the cookie will look pale and be fairly soft, but they will harden as they cool.
- Remove from the oven, and leave the cookies on the baking tray for ten minutes or so, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate in a Bain Marie (double boiler), using a small but deep bowl if possible (it makes it easier to dip the cookies).
- Dip each cookie in the melted chocolate, shaking off any excess, then place on a tray lined with grease-proof paper.
- Sprinkle over your preferred decoration, and allow the chocolate to set before eating. Enjoy!
Notes
- The recipe was originally made with regular flour. However, I now make these butter cookies with spelt flour. You can use either (no need to adjust the amount of flour).
- You don't need to use cinder toffee. If you have access to Crunchie bars, they would be amazing. You can either omit decoration, or add whatever you like. If you are making these as at Christmas, why not chop up some candy cane or throw over some festive-coloured sprinkles?
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