12 Days of Cookies, 2016 - Day 8: Skibo Castle Ginger Crunch

Today's cookies were made by Sandi Troop and can be sampled at the Annapolis Royal Library.

 

I have participated in the 12 Days of Cookies several times. Two or three times I resurrected recipes I used from library books when my kids were little or recipes that looked like ones I could make well in advance. This year I wanted one that just intrigued me to try...and I found it in The Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe from Each Year 1941 – 2009. Who doesn’t love ginger, a lot? Who doesn’t love shortbread, a lot? You know that shortbread cookie covered with toffee; are you drooling yet? This recipe responds to the above questions but takes them in a new direction.

The shortbread base is really thin and not very sweet but the ginger toffee-like topping is easy peasy to make and tastes a treat. With 1 cup icing sugar it is a sweet part to the cookie, making a perfect contrast to the thin, crisp shortbread base.

Initially I thought I could get Lyle’s Golden Syrup at the local grocery store but when I went in to get it they didn’t have it. A quick Google search recommended substituting 2 parts corn syrup with one part molasses. Since the recipe only calls for 1 Tbsp in the topping I thought this would work. As far as I can tell it did; Skibo Castle Ginger Crunch is delicious!

 

Shortbread base:

1 ¾ cup all purpose flour

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ginger

¼ tsp salt

½ cup cold butter

Topping:

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 Tbsp Lyle’s Golden Syrup

1 cup confection sugar

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp vanilla

 

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 13x9 metal baking pan

Make Shortbread base:

Sift together dry ingredients and blend in butter with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press evenly into bottom of pan (base will be thin). Bake in middle of oven until golden and crisp, 20 – 25 minutes.

Make topping just before shortbread is done:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and whisk the remaining ingredients until smooth. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring 30 seconds.

Pour Topping

Remove shortbread from oven and pour topping over, tilting pan to cover shortbread evenly.  Cool in pan on rack, then cut into small rectangles 8 by 8 or for larger cookies 4 by 9.

Notes:

It breaks easily when cutting into pieces. I think the solution would be to use a very thin, very sharp knife.

I also intend to use extra ginger, maybe ½ tsp more, in the toffee topping next time I make it. (There will be a next time.)

Finally I have been on a low carb/ high protein diet the last 4 months. I cheat, with little remorse occasionally. It helps me stay in control and choose my treats more wisely. With the Skibo Castle Ginger Crunch I was absolutely NOT in control. I had to pack the remains up and put them in a tin out of the way quickly. Even that did not prevent me from sampling them again this morning. (Only 1 though and carbs in the morning are not as bad as carbs in the evening; plus I cut the cookies small).

 

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Day 11, 2015; COCONUT BARS

Today’s delights were made by Dorothy McDonald of the Annapolis Royal Branch.

The recipe I selected this year is from "The Gourmet Cookie Book: the single best recipes from each year, 1941-2009"
Never, ever having considered myself a gourmet cook, I chose the book anyway, curious to see what cookies made the cut. This recipe was created in response to a reader's appeal for "cookies made with coconut and sprinkled with powdered sugar that have cake-like bottoms and chewy tops." Imagine...it was so long ago she couldn't just Google it!! The recipe list from the issue where this cookie is found also includes Young Partridge with Grapes, Poached Marrow, Couscous and Goose liver Pies, so this 'no fuss' cookie must be good to have been included with such gourmet-sounding fare!

The reasons I chose this recipe are:
1) it was the cookie selected as the best in the year I was born
2) I like coconut, and
3) they are like me...flaky, soft and nutty :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everybody!!
Coconut Bars Makes 2 dozen bars

Cream 1/2 cup softened butter. Add gradually 1/2 cup brown sugar and beat until smooth. Stir in 1 cup sifted flour and spread in the bottom of an 8-in square pan. Bake in a moderate oven for 20 minutes.
Beat 2 eggs and 1 cup light brown sugar until smooth. Stir in 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 cup chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup shredded coconut tossed with 2 Tbsp. flour and a pinch of salt. Spread this batter over the baked crust and continue to bake 20 min. longer. Cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into squares or bars.
The recipe suggested buttering the pan and lining it with 2 criss-crossed sheets of aluminum foil which are then buttered as well, but I didn't do this, just buttered the pan. I will use either the foil or parchment paper the next time as it would make them easier to cut.

THEY ARE TASTY!!

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