These easy, tasty, and spicy ginger biscuits are really simple to make. They’re a little crispy on the outside and a bit chewy in the middle. They make the perfect ginger cookies to dunk into your afternoon tea!
Ginger biscuits were a regular treat in my home when I was growing up. I knew I had to share a ginger biscuit recipe here. These yummy cookies are flavored with ground ginger, cinnamon, and golden syrup. It’s a classic mix of flavors!
Even though it’s a simple recipe, it took me several tries and a few mistakes to get it right. I had to change the ingredients and the amounts, especially the sugar, butter, and baking soda, a few times before I was happy with the recipe.
These cookies don’t have eggs and are great for the holidays. They taste really good with my Plain Vanilla Cookies, Condensed Milk Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies
Let’s Bite…!
Why You Will Love These Ginger Biscuits
This ginger biscuit recipe is quick and easy, and you don’t even have to chill the dough!
They’re full of yummy flavors like ginger and cinnamon, making them a great treat for the holiday season!
These biscuits are perfect with a hot cup of tea or coffee, or even a cold glass of milk.
Ingredients
Here are some notes on the ingredients used in this recipe. Please see the recipe card for quantities.
Butter
Butter adds flavor, softness, and moisture to baked goods, and sometimes it helps them rise. I use New Zealand butter in my recipes, which has about 82% butterfat and can be very yellow (similar to European or Irish butter). You can’t replace real butter with butter spreads or margarine spreads, but you can use baking margarine instead. If you use salted butter, you can skip the extra salt in the recipe.
Plain Flour
Plain flour (also known as all-purpose or standard grade flour) has a protein content of around 9.5-12%.
White Sugar
White sugar (granulated or caster sugar) makes baked goods sweet, slows down the formation of gluten, enhances other flavors, and acts as a leavening agent when mixed with butter.
Light Brown Sugar
Light brown sugar (soft brown sugar) adds a caramel flavor to ginger biscuits and makes them a bit chewy. You can use dark brown sugar instead. I’ve tried making these biscuits with only white sugar, but I think the bit of brown sugar really improves the flavor and texture.
Ground Ginger
Ground ginger gives these biscuits their spicy flavor, which goes well with the warm taste of ground cinnamon.
Golden Syrup
Golden syrup adds a nice flavor to these cookies and can be swapped with maple syrup. Golden syrup is a light amber-colored syrup made during the sugar refining process. It’s popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Baking Soda
To check if your baking soda (also called bicarbonate of soda or bread soda) is fresh, put a little in boiling water. If it bubbles and fizzes, it’s still good! Baking soda helps cookies spread out more, making them thinner and crispier. It also gives them a nice deep golden color while baking.
Salt
Salt is an important ingredient in all baked goods. I use table salt in all my recipes. One teaspoon of table salt is equal to 1.5 teaspoons of Morton Kosher Salt or 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal Salt.
Room Temperature Ingredients
Use room-temperature ingredients! This makes it easier for the ingredients in the batter or dough to mix together. Room temperature means about 20°C/68°F.
To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, put them in warm water for about 10 to 15 minutes.
To bring butter to room temperature quickly, cut it into cubes and microwave it at 20% power for 10 seconds at a time. Or, place the cubes in a bowl over warm water (like a double boiler) on low heat for 1 minute!
Weighing & Measuring Ingredients
Weighing ingredients with a kitchen scale is more accurate than using measuring cups. All my recipes are developed and tested using grams only.
However, check out the recipe card for cup measurements. For these conversions, cups are equal to 240 millilitres/8 fluid ounces, tablespoons are 15 milliliters and teaspoons are 5mL.
How to Make Ginger Biscuits
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F, or 160°C if you’re using a fan-forced oven. Line two large baking sheets or trays with parchment paper, baking paper, or silicone mats.
Step 2
In a large bowl, cream together the room-temperature butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and golden syrup. This will take about 3 to 5 minutes. If you’re using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
Note: The butter must be at room temperature for creaming. It should be soft enough to press or squeeze gently.
Step 3
Add the room-temperature egg and vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture, and beat them together until fully combined. This will take about 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 4
In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, and ground cinnamon. Add half of these dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until combined. You might need to finish mixing with a wooden spoon. Then add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough a few times by hand in the bowl to make sure everything is fully combined.
Step 5
Portion out the cookie dough using either a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop or by rolling small balls of dough, each about 2 tablespoons.
Step 6
In a small bowl or ramekin, stir together the raw sugar and ground ginger. Roll the cookie dough balls in the sugar-ginger mix and place them on the large baking sheet, about 7 cm (3 inches) apart. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the cookies are deep golden brown.
Note: Rolling the cookies in sugar is optional, but without it, they won’t look exactly like the picture and won’t have that extra crispiness.
Note: Check the cookies at the 12-minute mark to see how they’re doing.
Note: Space the biscuits out because they spread a lot during baking, ending up about 9 cm in diameter. I place 6 cookies on my 40 x 28.5 cm (15 x 11 inch) baking tray.
Step 7
Allow the baked biscuits to cool on the baking tray for at least 5 minutes before gently lifting them with a spatula onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Note: For perfectly round biscuits, use a large cookie cutter to scoot around the edges while they’re still warm before letting them cool completely.
Step 8
Continue with steps 5 to 7 until all the dough has been portioned and baked. Remember to follow the instructions mentioned above.
Pro Tips for this Recipe
Ovens
The temperatures listed are for conventional ovens. If you’re using a convection, fan-forced, fan-assisted, or air fryer, reduce the temperature by 20°C/25°F.
Make sure your oven is fully preheated before baking, and place the rack in the middle of the oven. Try to open the oven as little as possible while baking. For the best results, use an oven thermometer.
Remember that every oven is a little different, so you may need to adjust the baking times based on your specific oven.
Bakeware
Metal bakeware is best for baking biscuits, cookies, brownies, muffins, quick bread, scones, and cakes. It heats up and cools down faster than glassware. Glassware is heavier, heats up and cools down slower, and is better for baking bread puddings, pies, crisps, crumbles, and cobblers.
Storage and Freezing
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
1 Simple Way to Elevate Your Ginger Biscuits
Description
These easy, tasty, and spicy ginger biscuits are really simple to make. They're crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle, and perfect for dunking into your afternoon tea.
What You'll Need
For the Biscuits:
For the Sugar Coating:
Step-by-Step Instructions
-
Step 1:
Preheat Oven: Preheat to 180°C/355°F (160°C fan-forced). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. -
Step 2:
Cream Butter: In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter, 1 cup white sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons golden syrup for 3-5 minutes using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
-
Step 3:
Add Egg and Vanilla: Beat in 1 room-temperature egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until fully combined (2-3 minutes). -
Step 4:
Mix Dry Ingredients: In a smaller bowl, whisk together 2¼ cups plain flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 3-5 teaspoons ground ginger, and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
-
Step 5:
Combine Dough: Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mix until combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms.
Knead the dough a few times by hand to fully combine. -
Step 6:
Portion and Coat: Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop or roll 2-tablespoon dough balls. Mix ¼ cup raw sugar with 1 teaspoon ground ginger. Roll dough balls in this mixture and place on a baking sheet, 7cm (3 inches) apart. -
Step 7:
Bake: Bake for 15 minutes or until deep golden brown. Let cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. -
Step 8:
Repeat: Continue with remaining dough.
Nutrition Facts
Servings 18
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 225kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 11g17%
- Saturated Fat 7g35%
- Trans Fat 0.5g
- Cholesterol 37mg13%
- Sodium 146mg7%
- Potassium 65mg2%
- Total Carbohydrate 31g11%
- Dietary Fiber 0.5g2%
- Sugars 19g
- Protein 2g4%
- Vitamin A 360 IU
- Calcium 25 mg
- Iron 1.1 mg
- Vitamin D 9 IU
- Vitamin E 0.2 IU
- Vitamin K 1.2 mcg
- Vitamin B6 0.01 mg
- Vitamin B12 0.07 mcg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note
- Makes approximately 18 biscuits, each about 9 cm in diameter.
- 225 grams butter is slightly less than 1 metric cup (2 sticks).
- Use room-temperature butter for creaming.
- Optional: Roll biscuits in sugar before baking for extra crispiness.
- Check cookies at 12 minutes for progress; they spread out to about 9 cm in diameter.
- For perfect biscuits, use a large cookie cutter to shape edges before cooling completely.
- Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
