COOKIES,  VEGETARIAN

CANDIED GINGER & TANGERINE SHORTBREAD

2009/01/17 / 22 Comments
“I am still convinced that a good, simple, homemade cookie is preferable to all the store-bought cookies one can find.”
James Beard
orange+ginger+shortbread3
Mmmmmmmmmm shortbread! Think shortbread – think crisp, think buttery, think an indulgent cookie… Add some crystallised ginger & tangerine peel to it & you give this traditional favourite a delicious twist. Go a step further, dip it into dark chocolate, & you reach dangerously delicious shortbread nirvana! Yes, that is what I did!GINGER+CANDIED2It all began with the David Levobitz’s post on candied ginger. I made a whole bunch of it, with candied tangerine peel as well, & have had a great time experimenting with my crystallised ginger & tangerine bits. IMG 4014orange+ginger+shortbread4With a resource as good & exciting as the net, I googled for recipes & was pleased as punch. I used the crystallised bits in the creme brulee in my Daring Bakers French Yule Log, & on top as well. Then I dived into my cookbook collection, & used some in these delightful Florentines, posted here. Inspired by the charm of crystallised ginger & peel, I decided to give my previously posted orange shortbread a gingery twist. orange+ginger+shortbread5These were being made for the hubs sweet Japanese colleague Toru San & his wife who were leaving Delhi to go to Chennai. Toru San’s wife, Yoshiko, brought us some more Japanese baked goodies from a specialist patisserie in Japan. 2008 12 245This time they were coinciding with new year. Toru san also asked the gentleman from the patisserie to put in an extra sheet of special wrapping paper for me, because he said he knew how much art form & cultures of different countries intrigue me. 2009 01 06This particular wrapping sheet has a whole story of the new year spun into it…with a kite, wooden tops, paper fans, cherry tree blossoms, a kid’s face etc. The packaging was once again stunningly beautiful, & the insides revealed 2 boxes of exquisite tea cakes. Everything was written in Japanese, but 1 cake was a vanilla/chocolate loaf with gold leaf on top, & the the other was a chocolate loaf with bean paste or some similar filling. Both were very nice, & are specially made by this bakery over the new year. IMG 4072 CRYSTALLISED GINGER & TANGERINE SHORTBREAD
Ingredients:
Butter – 1/2 cup (room temperature)
Castor Sugar – 5 tbsps
Finely chopped candied ginger & tangerine peel – 1/3 cup (+ some for topping if needed)
Flour- 1 1/2 cups
Dark melted chocolate for topping if desired

DB+Yule+lopg4IMG 3864

Method:
  • Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Grease 2 baking sheets.
  • Beat the butter & sugar till creamy & soft.I do this by hand.
  • Mix in the candied fruit well. (I do this too by hand & don’t use the mixer at all for this recipe).
  • Gradually add the flour and gently pull the dough in together to form a soft ball. Chill for an hour.
  • Roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2 ” thickness.
  • Put on the baking sheet, light golden brown.
  • Remove to a cookie rack to cool. Dip into melted chocolate, sprinkle the cut fruit immediately & leave to set.
  • Makes about 2-3 dozen 3″ cookies. IMG 3988

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Posted by Deeba @ PAB

About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

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22 Comments

  • A_and_N

    2009/01/17 at 3:50 am Reply

    I love ginger cookies. Will try it for my own bday- LOL and let you now how they came out! 🙂

  • noble pig

    2009/01/17 at 4:48 pm Reply

    These are beautiful and I think the flavor combination of the ginger and tangerine and chocolate is spot on! Beautiful photos as well!

  • Jeanne

    2009/01/17 at 11:58 pm Reply

    Oh Deeba!! These look absolutely fantastic! Ginger, citrus and chocolate: I’m not sure there is a better combination on earth.

  • Dharm

    2009/01/18 at 3:48 am Reply

    those look simply awesome! I’m getting real jealous of your photography skills now you know!

  • Purnima

    2009/01/18 at 8:52 am Reply

    Deeba, loved this shortbread! The crystallized ginger r not looking any lesser than precious gems! (I sliced ginger, with too much anticipation of making this, kids n hub fell sick one after other–nearly for 10 days 🙁 cdnt proceed wt crystallizing proceeded wt them in chutneys n curries! hmpfh! never mind..wd try again..wont open my big mouth prior to making! :D) Honestly the c.gin is popping at me thru the screen!! Hw sweet of the Jap couple to get u their tradition n artform..the wrappers looks stunning! Lucky n deserving at the same time!hv a gr8 wkend!

  • Snooky doodle

    2009/01/18 at 2:38 pm Reply

    these shortbread cookies look so good. I think ginger and chocolate go really well toghether

  • lisa (dandysugar)

    2009/01/19 at 4:14 am Reply

    Deeba,

    Of course, these look amazing! I have something for you on my blog! Come over!

  • morgana

    2009/01/19 at 8:47 am Reply

    I must try these, I’m sure the will be a real hit at home, we love tangerines and ginger.

    Thank you!!!!

  • diva

    2009/01/19 at 3:36 pm Reply

    gorgeous shortbread!! so pretty…i really like the pairing with candied ginger 🙂 u’re so lucky!! i have a massive passion for japanese art (actually most things japanese)…only wish i had more time to have a go working at it. x

  • realfoodlover

    2009/01/23 at 10:49 am Reply

    Yum – citrus and ginger: a winning combination. Another winner is ginger and pear (in a crumble). And you can crystallise your own ginger? That is food for thought! To investigate…

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