These delicious squirrels are ginger shortbread biscuits. I have used crystallised ginger in this recipe and it works really well.
These are buttery melt in your mouth with a lovely hit of the warm spice of ginger. They look pretty neat too!!!! If you don’t have a squirrel cutter any shape works perfectly well.
To start with make sure you have a good quality butter as it really does make a difference to the taste!
These biscuits are very quick to make, start by creaming the butter and sugar in a stand mixer, with a hand mixer in a large bowl or even just a wooden spoon and bowl. When the butter is light and fluffy add the flour, cornflour and salt gradually until it is all combined and forms a soft dough. Add in the chopped crystallised ginger and mix until it is incorporated through the dough.
On a floured surface roll out the dough to 1/2 cm thick and cut out approximately 18 biscuits.
Place the biscuits on the prepared trays and bake for 25-30 minutes.
When they come out of the oven sprinkle with caster sugar, then allow the biscuits to cool slightly before transferring to a cooling rack.
Ginger Shortbread Cookies
Sarah's servings: 18
Sarah's skill: Easy
Baking time: 20-25 minutes
Ingredients:
200g Butter
100g Caster Sugar
200g Plain Flour
100g Cornflour
Pinch of salt
50g Crystallised ginger (chopped roughly)
Extra caster sugar for decoration.
Method:
Line two baking trays with baking parchment.
In a stand mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the flour, cornflour and salt gradually to the butter mixture until it comes together as a soft dough. Add the chopped ginger and mix again until ginger is fully incorporated.
On a floured surface roll the dough out to 1/2 cm thickness and cut out in squirrel shapes (approx 18 biscuits). Place on the prepared trays and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees centigrade (160 fan) or Gas Mark 4.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with some extra caster sugar. Leave to cool slightly on the trays then transfer to a baking tray.
Sarah's Extra slice.......
Any cutter will work but I thought the squirrels were cute.
Always use a good quality butter it will taste so much better.