This old-fashioned Ginger Biscuits Recipe delivers a thin, crisp biscuit that's the perfect little accompaniment to a warm cup of something.
These biscuits are just the thing to remind you how the simple things in life can be the most wonderful and lovely. They may not look too special, but the ginger punch combined with the golden syrup sweetness and crispy texture makes these biscuits moreish to the max!
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The recipe
I found this recipe clipped from an old newspaper in Nana Ling's collection. I've converted the measurements and tweaked it a little – so keep scrolling to the recipe card at the end of this post.
Ingredient notes
These biscuits are made from ground ginger along with some basics:
- SR flour (self-raising flour, to make it from plain/all-purpose flour, add 2 teaspoons of baking powder to every 1 cup of plain flour)
- caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- butter
- bicarb soda (baking soda)
- golden syrup (substitute with corn or maple syrup).
A full ingredient list with quantities is in the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make Ginger Biscuits
Want a little therapy with your Ginger Biscuits? The Ginger Biscuits themselves are lovely, but the process of baking them is also just so soothing.
No noisy mixers. Just sifting. Feeling the butter and flour between your fingers.
Weighing and measuring.
Watching the golden syrup slowly make its way into the bowl. Mixing. Rolling.
And – my favourite part – cutting out the rounds and laying them carefully on baking trays.
Storage
The biscuits should last up to a week if stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. You can also freeze them. Freeze the baked cookies in an airtight container for up to a few months. Defrost overnight at room temperature before serving.
More old-fashioned bikkies
Browse the entire Cooking with Nana Ling biscuits collection here or jump straight to one of these recipes:
Made this recipe and love it? Please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. (And it really makes my day to hear how Nana Ling's recipes are being made, shared and loved all around the world! - Libby x)
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Ginger Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients
- 225 grams SR flour (1 ¾ cup) (to make SR flour from plain/all-purpose flour, add 2 teaspoons of baking powder to every 1 cup of plain flour)
- 55 grams caster sugar (¼ cup) (superfine sugar)
- 85 grams butter
- ½ teaspoon bicarb soda (baking soda)
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 tablespoons golden syrup (use only enough to form a dough) (substitute with corn or maple syrup)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to moderate (170 degrees celsius/340 degrees fahrenheit, fan forced).
- Sieve flour, bicarb soda and ginger together into a bowl.
- Chop butter into cubes and rub into dry mixture.
- Add sugar and stir through mixture.
- Add enough of the golden syrup to bind the mixture together to form a dough. Add a little additional syrup if required.
- Turn onto a lightly floured surface and roll out as thinly as possible.
- Use a small round cutter (about 5cm diameter) to cut out biscuits.
- Place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Bake for 7-10 minutes.
- Allow to cool.
Jan
The biscuits turned out beautifully, even though I used 'gluten free' mix so the recipe is very forgiving though I had to add a little more golden syrup.
A few hints -
- I rolled out between two sheets of baking paper so they were nice and thin. Top sheet then goes on the baking tray and the cut shapes moved onto it (about 1 cm apart) for cooking.
- I used a square cutter which made for efficient cutting, but it is IMPORTANT to move them apart for cooking so they have a smooth outline.
- I did try with the leftover pieces to roll out and score the piece into rectangles without moving but they cooked together. While still hot, I re-cut with a sharp knife on the score lines but they ended up a bit crumbly on the sides so not as pretty (but it was much faster!)
- I like ginger a lot and will probably try it with 2 teaspoons ginger next time - and there will definitely be a lot of next times - and perhaps with testing other spices just for fun.
- at 170 degrees in my oven they were done in five minutes, so watch carefully.
Libby Hakim
Thanks so much for taking the time to add these tips, Jan! I'll keep in mind when updating the post 🙂
Clive
Love them, substituted erythritol for the sugar, to lower the sugar.
Turned out wonderful and will be a regular part of my repertoire, as I love ginger, in any form.
Greetings from Johannesburg, South Africa.
Libby Hakim
Wonderful, thanks for the feedback and idea about sugar substitution – and the lovely greetings. Sending best wishes from Australia! Enjoy the ginger biscuits 🙂