Traditional to Cornwall, these spicy ginger biscuits are deliciously crunchy. They're dead easy to put together and are made with both treacle and golden syrup as well as wholemeal flour. Perfect for enjoying with a cup of tea or coffee at any time of the day. They're a dunker's delight and make great gifts too.
Line one large or two small baking trays with baking parchment.
Place all of the dry ingredients except the sugar into a large bowl (the top 7 ingredients). Cube the butter and rub it into the flour etc with your fingers until you have something that resembles breadcrumbs.
120 g wholemeal flour, 1 ½ tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground allspice, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), 1 pinch sea salt, 60 g unsalted butter
Stir in the sugar and mixed peel if using.
60 g golden caster sugar, 20 g mixed peel
Add the treacle and golden syrup and stir with a round bladed knife until everything is well mixed.
1 tbsp treacle, 1 tbsp golden syrup
Bring the mixture together with your hands. Don't worry if it seems a bit dry at first, just keep squeezing it together and it will get there.
Take off walnut size lumps and roll them into balls using the palms of your hands.
Place the balls on the baking trays well apart from each other so that they have room to spread.
Bake for ten minutes. The fairings should be nicely cracked and burnished, but not burnt.
Leave on the trays for a couple of minutes to firm up, then using a spatula transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Top Tip. Warm your tablespoon up in a mug of hot water before dipping it into the golden syrup or treacle. It will come off the spoon a lot easier this way.The fairings will keep in a sealed tin for three to four days, but will start to soften after that. You can crisp them up again by placing them in a hot oven for 2-3 minutes.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.