Ginger nut biscuits

340g/12oz plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2-3 heaped teaspoons ground ginger

100g/4oz butter, cold and diced

160g soft brown dark sugar

100g/4oz golden syrup

1 large egg, beaten

Method

1. Preheat the oven 180c/Gas Mark 4.

2. Line two large baking trays with parchment paper.

3. Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger into a large mixing bowl.

4. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until you reach the fine breadcrumb stage.

5. Stir in the brown sugar, then the golden syrup and beaten egg.

6. Bring it all together with your hands to form a smooth dough.

7. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to the thickness of a pound coin.

8. Using a 2’’ plain cutter, cut out the biscuits until all the dough is used up.

9. Place your biscuits onto the baking trays ensuring you leave a little room for expansion.

10. Chill on the baking tray for 20 minutes in the fridge before baking.

11. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

12. Allow the biscuits to cool slightly before removing from the baking tray with a palette knife and placing onto a cooling rack.

13. Store in an airtight container for a up to a week to keep crunchy.

14. Best dunked and eaten with a brew of steaming Yorkshire tea.

* Did you know ginger biscuits are ideal for an upset tummy, especially one associated with car sickness or pregnancy?

Ginger is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or simply ginger, is widely used as a spice or a folk medicine.

It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems – false stems made of the rolled bases of leaves – that reach about a metre high and bear narrow leaf blades.

Ginger comes from the same family of plants turmeric and cardamom. It originated in the tropical rainforests from the Indian subcontinent to Southern Asia.

Ginger was one of the first spices exported from the Orient, ginger arrived in Europe during the spice trade, and was used by ancient Greeks and Romans.

Southern Asia remains among the world’s largest producers, including India and China. Numerous wild relatives in tropical or subtropical regions of the world.