Musings: Keeping Warm

I really thought with the rush of the Holidays being over, I'd have more time and motivation to get back into the kitchen, but it's taken me a lot longer than I expected. Last year was a busy and challenging year, and I hadn't realized how much it had sapped my energy until I was able to hit the restart button at the beginning of the new year. So in the last week or so I've been catching up, and taking a little time to review things.

One of the key things I've also been trying to do, like many people in the northern hemisphere, right now is stay warm! It's been a particularly brutal winter so far, and it's had me searching for soups and warming stews. A Slow-Cooker was under the Christmas tree this year, so I've been test driving it a lot in last couple of weeks.

This need for capturing warmth and coziness has also had me searching through old cookbooks to find cookie recipes that can stand up to being "dunked" in a good cup of coffee or hot chocolate - yummy! For some reason I've been obsessed with trying to find a recipe to replicate one of my favorites, that also happens to be a staple in many New Zealand homes - Gingernuts. Unlike other ginger cookies, these substantial cookies have a hard exterior making them perfect for "dunking" as they have the body to stand up to the hot liquid without disintegrating.

My quest to find the perfect Gingernut replica hit a wee snag on my first attempt. While the cookie had the right texture and looked good, it lacked the sweet spiciness I was searching for - to be perfectly honest, they looked great but tasted horrible. In a desperate bid to find a decent recipe for gingernuts before the next round of storms arrives, I decided to modify an old recipe of the past - the ingredients were the perfect blend of spiciness and sweetness but the texture never met my expectations - they would always come out a big blobby mess and more often than not, ended up spreading across the cookie pan into flat discs not worthy of dunking. So, with some coaxing and experimentation, I am pleased to announce SUCCESS. The perfect homemade gingernut worthy of dunking into your favorite hot brew. So, next time you're looking for a substantial, spicy cookie try my gingernuts...