Makes 15–18 GINGER COOKIES
140g unsalted butter, softened
150g soft light brown sugar
70g golden syrup
1 egg
225g plain flour
11⁄2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1⁄4 tsp ground cloves
150g demerara sugar
CREAM CHEESE ICING
70g unsalted butter, softened
a pinch of sea salt
115g cream cheese, at room temperature
395g icing sugar, sifted
FOR THE GINGER COOKIES
In a large bowl, bring together the butter,
light brown sugar and golden syrup with
a spatula or an electric hand mixer until
well combined. Add the egg and mix
through until smooth, then add all of the dry
ingredients, except for the demerara sugar,
and fold through until you have a soft, squishy
dough. Cover and place in the fridge for
around 1 hour to firm up.
Preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C fan) and
line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
Weigh out 20g nuggets of the dough and
roll between your hands to make neat balls.
Roll each one in the demerara sugar to
completely coat them. Pop them onto
the baking sheet 10cm/4in apart, to allow
for spreading.
Bake for 10 minutes, then leave to cool
down completely.
FOR THE CREAM CHEESE ICING
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, or in a medium mixing bowl,
beat together the butter and salt until
pale and whippy. Add the cream cheese
and beat together on a high speed for
1–2 minutes. Add the icing sugar in two
stages, beating for a couple of minutes
after each addition until you have a light,
smooth, luxurious icing. Pop this into a
piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle.
TO FINISH
Pair up the cookies and turn half of them
over, ready to fill.
Pipe 5–6 small blobs of icing (about the size
of a 50p piece) around the middle of the
cookies, 1cm/½in from the edge. Place the
other cookies on top and gently press down
to allow the icing blobs to spread a bit and
reach the edges of the sandwich. Place in
the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
TEAM TIP
Putting them in the fridge for a while will
help the icing firm up. Actually, we all prefer
them the day after they’ve been in the
fridge overnight!
This is an extract from Crumbs and Doilies by Jemma Wilson (Penguin Random House Australia, RRP $49.99)