British Tea-Time

English Ginger Cookies
(Makes 24-36 pieces)

Delicious spicey ginger cookies. Perfect for English tea time.

1/2 C sugar
1/4 C dark corn syrup
1/4 C water
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 C butter
2 C flour
1 tsp. baking soda

In a large saucepan, combine the first 6 ingredients. Heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add butter, stirring till melted and mixture is no longer hot.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour and baking soda. Gradually add flour to butter mixture, stirring till dough becomes soft. Wrap dough tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, even up to a week.

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out dough on a floured surface to a 1/4"- thickness. Use any size or shape cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Place cut-outs on ungreased baking sheet (careful not to crowd). Re-roll and cut out scraps, till dough is used.

Bake 7-8 minutes till golden brown. Cool before removing from baking sheet.

* You'll find dough easier to handle and roll-out if you divide it into 2 or 3 sections first.

| See more British recipes |

Tips & Glossary

Clotted Cream: a thick yellowish cream made from unpasturized cow's milk. You can make your own, although it's hard to find unpasturized cream in the U.S. Still, you'll find 3 recipes under Scones. All use pasturized cream; try to avoid "ultra" pasturized.

Ploughman's Lunch: sounds romantic, like a peasant dish from medieval times, but it's a marketing gimmick from the 1970's! It's become a popular lunch in Britain now: a piece of bread, hunk of cheese, with onion, gherkin, and an apple. Our Ploughman's Soup is a take-off on that name.

Roux: (“roo”), paste-like mixture of melted butter and flour, into which liquid is gradually added. Used as a thickening agent for soups and all classic French sauces. Basic Roux: melt 1 part butter and add 1 part flour. Stir continuously till it becomes paste-like. Slowly add whatever liquid your recipe calls for.

Tea Time: Afternoon tea became fashionable in the mid-1600's. A light snack with sandwiches and sweets, it's served from 3-5 in a sitting room. High tea, is a light meal served from 5-6 in a dining room. ("High" because the dining table is higher than the low ones in a sitting room.)

Yorkshire Pudding: from the northern county of Yorkshire, originating in the early 1700s when flour was more readily available. A pancake like batter is spooned into the drippings of a roast as it cooks. Eaten alongside the roast or as a separate course.