Honey & Ginger Jumbles

 
Normally at the weekend, I like to bake Todd a treat to enjoy with his hot drinks. I don't do many hot drinks myself, mostly just cold ones, but Todd, he enjoys a hot drink.  I think it is the Brit in him! 
 
I had seen this recipe for Honey & Ginger Jumbles over on the Donna Hay site.  They looked really nice and I do like Donna's recipes.  I have a couple of her cookbooks. 
 
And so I adapted the recipe to British and North American measurements.  (Australian are a tiny bit different.  For instance their cups are larger.)  I also didn't want to dust the finished cookies with powdered ginger after icing.
 
Instead I iced them and sprinkled them with some candied ginger root, which Todd loves.  There is no refined sugar in the cookies themselves.  Just honey.
 
There are  also no eggs.  You simply melt some butter and honey together . . .
 
Sift together some flour, soda, ground cinnamon and ground ginger . . .  I was tempted to add ground cardamom as well, but didn't this time. 
 
One TBS of finely grated orange zest also goes into the mix.  You then mix some milk into the butter mixture and add it all at once to the dry ingredients.
 
You chill the dough for about half an hour and then shape it into logs before placing them onto lined baking sheets.
 
Twelve minutes or so later you have some really nice cookies, and let me tell you, they smell really heavenly when they are baking!
 
Honey . . .  ginger  . . .  cinnamon  . . .  orange. That's a pretty unbeatable combination.
 
Once baked you let them cool on a wire rack and then you ice them in a thick drizzle icing.  I did not make as much icing as the original recipe asked for.  I thought it was a bit overmuch and what I made actually worked quite well, and I still had leftover icing. 
  
These are really nice cookies.  Not too crunchy (Todd hates things that are too crisp.) Perfect for dunking as well.  Nicely flavoured as well!

Honey & Ginger Jumbles

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With ImageWithout ImageYield: Makes 16 cookies
Author: Marie RaynerThese are lovely and not overly sweet, with the mild flavor of honey, orange and a bit of a ginger kick!

ingredients:

• 3 TBS  butter, cut into bits
• 175g liquid honey (1/2 cup)
• 150g plain flour, sifted (1 cup + 1 1/2 TBS)
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 TBS finely grated orange zest
• 1 TBS milk

For the glaze:

• 195g icing sugar, sifted (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 tsp honey
•  boiling water (as needed)
• chopped candied ginger root

instructions:

1. Place the butter and honey in a small saucepan.  Melt together over medium/low heat.  Simmer and cook for about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow it to cool slightly.
2. Sift together the flour, soda, ginger and cinnamon.  Stir in the orange zest.  Whisk the milk into the butter mixture.  Add to the dry ingredients. Mix well to combine.  Place in the refrigerator for 20 to 30  minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/gas mark 3. Line several baking sheets with some baking paper. 
4. Pinch off 2 teaspoons of dough at a time and shape into 3 inch long logs.  Place well apart on the baking sheets to allow for spreading.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until light golden brown. Leave to sit for a few minutes prior to scooping off onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Whisk the icing sugar and honey, as well as hot water together in a bowl until you get a thick drizzle. (start off with 1 TBS of water)  Dip the tops of the cookies (working with one at a time) into the icing, letting any excess drip off.  Place back onto the rack and sprinkle a bit of candied ginger on top.  Allow the icing to set before storing in an airtight container.

NOTES:

If you find the dough a bit sticky to roll, you can lightly flour your hands.

Created using The Recipes Generator
 
Another bonus for me was it only makes 16 cookies.  Just enough for Todd to enjoy without there being a lot around to overly tempt me. Win/win!!