What are those flecks on top? Dried lavender. Not in the original recipe, but I was serving these with honey lavender ice cream, so I wanted to tie the two together. These bars are sinful. Indeed. Tasty with ginger – loved the icing on top. Very simple cookies to make.
My stack of recipes to try is so out of control. I’ve blogged about it before, but there are times when I just deeply exhale and say to myself I’ve really got to do something about it. But what?
(1) I could stop subscribing to all the food magazines I get. But darn it, I enjoy reading them all. A lot. So nope, not an option, I’m afraid! What I DO do, though, is when I start reading a magazine I clip as I go. I sit at our kitchen counter when I peruse food mags and in the drawer next to me I keep a pair of scissors and scotch tape. As you know, they come in handy – I don’t tear out the whole page, just the recipe itself. If I were to just look through a magazine (I used to do this) and set it aside to clip recipes later . . . well, the later never comes, I’ve learned. I used to fold down a page corner, but after 6 months I had this big stack of magazines that threatened to undo me. So that’s why I clip as I read. If a recipe doesn’t make it in the first “cut,” then it’s too bad. I try NOT to clip more than 1-3 recipes in a magazine. Sometimes I don’t find any I want. Usually I find a couple. If I’ve clipped more than 3 I try to hone it down to 3 or maybe 2 max. When I’m finished with the issue, I pull a 1-inch tear in the top edge of the cover – that’s my clue that I’ve read that magazine in full and it’s ready for the trash bin.
(2) I could stop clipping recipes out of magazines or newspapers. Read them, yes; clip from them, stop? Nope, I know myself – I can’t do that either. I have a few recipe contributors (like Grace Parisi, who is a regular in Food & Wine) and I often like her unusual combinations. I rarely cook anything out of Saveur, as much as I like the magazine, they’ve kind of gone to a trend-style or the entire magazine is about a particular cuisine (the most recent issue was about Mexico). I may cancel that subscription the next time it comes up for renewal. I DO enjoy Bon Appetit and Food and Wine, though. And Cook’s Illustrated too.
(3) I could stop reading other blogs. No way, Jose! For sure can’t do that one. When I see recipes there I copy and paste them into my MasterCook software – it’s easy to do and that way I don’t have to print anything (less paper = good for me and my house). When I’m researching something to make, I just refer to my internet recipe cookbook I have in MasterCook. They’re sub-divided by type (salads, veggies/sides, beverages, etc.) so I can easily look up just what I want. Easy to see from the title whether it’s something I want to pursue.
(4) Well, I could just stop trying new recipes except for what I already have – then I wouldn’t need any more new ideas. I must have a couple of thousand to-try recipes in my arsenal. Way too many. This option doesn’t sound viable to me. I wouldn’t get to try some of the new things that keep arriving in our markets, new produce, new combinations that surprise my palate. I have recipe clippings that go back to the 1960’s. Can you believe that? Well, that gives you a clue as to how old I am! I also have about 300 cookbooks. Yikes. And I keep buying more. Crazy me.
So, what do I do about it? Well, just keep truckin’ I guess and hope I have room for everything. I have a stack of recipes to file that’s about 4 inches high. It’s been months since I “cleaned house” on that stack. Some are recipes from my big binders (my favorites, ones I’ve already made) that I use frequently enough and need a hard copy, but they need to be re-filed in their proper binder (yes, I have 5 binders – 3 with recipes I’ve made and 2 very full binders of clippings to try).
Therefore, we get to this recipe. Finally. I’m so glad I got all that off my chest. Now I can go back to my usual routine of clipping and collecting and not worry about it because I’ve journaled all of you about it! Do any of you have this problem too? What do you do about it?
Ginger Crunch Bars came from a recipe I had printed out YEARS ago from Gourmet Magazine. 1999 to be exact. These are from Skibo Castle in Scotland, and the chef made them often for afternoon tea. They would be lovely for that. I may have to make them again just to serve them with tea. (Sorry, you can’t stay there – it’s a members-only club now.)
There’s a shortbread layer on the bottom. Easy to mix up and press into place. I do want to tell you a little about the pan size, though. The recipe says 9×13. I think the shortbread part is too thin using a 9×13. Next time I make these I’ll use that odd Pyrex size, 7×11. I think that would make a little sturdier shortbread (bake it a bit longer AND at 25° lower since glass bakes hotter) and it would hold together better. Made in a 9×13 these cookies are very thin and fragile. VERY fragile. The other little trick I read afterwards on someone else’s version of this was to score the cookies while they’re still warm – they’ll cut cleanly and not crumble so much. Someone else suggested making a foil sling and to remove them when they’re still almost hot – and place sling with cookies on a rack to cool. All good suggestions.
During the last 10 minutes or so of the baking time start making the topping. You really want the topping to finish JUST when you whisk the cookie pan out of the oven. I missed by a couple of minutes, but was able to spread the frosting on with an offset spatula easily enough a couple of minutes later. Part of the great flavor is from the Lyle’s Golden Syrup. If at all possible, don’t substitute – find it if you can. I think it has a kind of buttery-caramel flavor. It tastes nothing at all like Karo syrup. I used dried lavender too – I chopped it up finely with a large chef’s knife – and gently pressed it into the icing. The lavender wasn’t in the original recipe, so if you don’t have that, you’ll still have a fantastic cookie without it.
My DH, who hardly ever eats cookies, couldn’t keep his hands out of the broken pieces and crumbs. He loved these cookies. It also helps that they’re small and maybe just a little bit better for us since you don’t eat all that much of it – unless you go back for seconds and thirds. As I mentioned, I took them to a dinner party and they were well liked by everyone.
What I liked: the ginger flavor. I love ginger, so it’s just a no-brainer that I’d like these cookies. Some people added crystallized ginger pieces to the frosting. That might be good too.
What I didn’t like: really, nothing. A fantastic cookie.
MasterCook 5+ Import File – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
Ginger Crunch Bars
Recipe By: Adapted slightly from Gourmet Magazine, December, 1999 (title: Skibo Castle Ginger Crunch).
Serving Size: 64
NOTES: Lyle’s Golden Syrup is a British product – sometimes a little hard to find. You may find it at World Market. You can mail order it from King Arthur Flour also. It imparts a very important caramel-buttery flavor to the icing. You can substitute honey, but it definitely won’t taste the same. Some others who have made this recommend putting a foil sling into the pan before pressing in the shortbread layer. Remove the sling from the pan before the shortbread has cooled off, otherwise it will shatter.
SHORTBREAD:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces cold unsalted butter — cut into pieces
TOPPING:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Lyle’s golden syrup — (British cane sugar syrup)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon dried lavender — (optional – my addition) finely minced
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 13×9 metal baking pan. If you use a Pyrex dish, reduce temp by 25°. Don’t over bake. Don’t use an oversized pan; otherwise the shortbread will be too thin to hold together. You might be able to use a Pyrex 7×11, but increase baking time by 4-6 minutes. (This last one will be my pan size if I try this again.)
2. Make shortbread base: Sift together dry ingredients and blend in butter with your fingertips 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 to 25 minutes.
3. Make topping just before pulling the shortbread from the oven.
4. Melt butter in a medium saucepan and whisk in remaining ingredients until smooth. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring, 30 seconds. If the mixture is lumpy, continue cooking it until it foams up and almost starts to go to candy. Stir constantly so it doesn’t burn.
5. Remove shortbread from oven and pour topping over, tilting pan to cover shortbread evenly, or use an offset spatula and spread to outside edges. If using, sprinkle the top with dried lavender. Cool slightly, then cut small squares while the cookies are still warm – otherwise they will crumble very easily.
6. Cool in pan on a rack.
Per Serving: 42 Calories; 3g Fat (54.2% calories from fat); trace Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 7mg Cholesterol; 17mg Sodium.
hddonna
said on September 19th, 2012:
Just what I was looking for–a little something extra to add to a friend’s birthday present–a friend who loves ginger! I have to mail them, so will try the thicker version you suggest.
As to the recipe problem, I’m with you there! I’ve tried many things. I used to clip them and paste into spiral notebooks, logging a simple index at the back, listing the recipe titles by categories with page numbers. There are three or four of those. Then I tried file folders. That was useless–never got to the recipes in folders. Then I put recipes in gallon ziploc bags. I’d number the recipes, and list them on a sheet of paper that could be read through the plastic. Currently, I’m behind on the clippings–there are little stashes in several places. I list newspaper ones in a small notebook so I can go to the newspaper’s website if I want to try them. There are stacks of computer printouts on my bookcase (I don’t have a nifty computer program). I sometimes e-mail recipes to myself and stash them in folders there. And I stockpile my favortie magazines, using the websites to find which issue a recipe is in and then finding the magazine to cook from so I don’t have to print it out. I can’t throw a food magazine away, and I can’t make myself cut them up, so I limit myself on the real magazines and have joined the Cooks Illustrated site instead of getting the paper version. Still, I’m going to have to start parting with them soon.
Gloria
said on September 19th, 2012:
These sound great! I love ginger. Thanks for your tips on saving recipes to try. I certainly could use a little better organization.
Well, good! Hope my method helps someone else. . . Carolyn t