Paul Hollywood's gingernut biscuits recipe

A classic British biscuit, Paul Hollywood shows you how to make the perfect gingernut.

Paul Hollywood’s classic gingernut biscuits are made with light brown sugar and spiced with ground ginger. This recipe also uses golden syrup which gives them a sweet kick and a golden glow once baked. But where’s the nut you might ask? Well, ginger nuts get their name not from the ingredients, rather from the fact that they are "hard as a nut". While they don’t want them to be so hard you’ll break your teeth on them, a good ginger nut should have a satisfying snap when broken into. It's this texture that means they hold their shape brilliantly when dunked in tea.  This recipe makes around 40 biscuits, so it’s worth noting that gingernuts also make a perfect buttery biscuit base for a lemon cheesecake.

Ingredients

• 340g/12oz plain flour
• 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 level tsps ground ginger
• 100g/4oz butter
• 160g light brown sugar
• 4 tblsp golden syrup
• 1 large egg, beaten

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Line the baking trays with grease proof paper.
3. Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Rub in butter with finger tips until it looks like bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar then the syrup and the beaten egg. Bring it all together to form a smooth pastry dough.
4. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to be about 8mm thick. Using a 2” straight-sided round cutter, cut out biscuits until all the biscuit dough is used up. Place on baking trays ensuring enough room is left for slight expansion of the biscuit.
5. Chill on the baking trays for 20 minutes in fridge.
6. Cook for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from tray with palette knife and place on a cooling rack.

Top tip for making Paul Hollywood's gingernut biscuits

If you find the dough is becoming elastic and hard to roll, wrap it in cling film and chill it for 10min to allow the gluten to relax.