Ginger Nuts | Sherlock | All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

Okay, so you know what a TBR pile is, right? It stands for "to be read", referring to a person's literal or figurative ever-growing reading list. I have a huge one. I also have a list of television shows that, while not as long, is starting to rival it. So, I figured maybe that would be called a TBW list, you know, "to be watched"...except I googled TBW and decided I couldn't call it that.

Not that it necessarily needs an acronym, I was just thinking out loud. But yeah, all that to say that until a couple of months ago, BBC's Sherlock was on the list that I'm not referring to as my TBW. I had just finished Gilmore Girls and decided that I would settle in to Sherlock next. What the heck!? I'm used to British shows having shorter seasons, but 3 episodes per season? That's just craziness...even if they are around 90 minutes long.

Needless to say, I finished it in the blink of an eye. I loved it, and adore Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock. Fortunately I didn't have to wait too long for more since season 4 premiered on PBS last Sunday. Of course, that means I'm already a third of the way done with the season (as is everybody else). Bleck!

Episode 1, "The Six Thatchers", begins with Sherlock in a meeting with Mycroft and the Cabinet. He's being chided by _ since he's tweeting instead of paying attention...when he's distracted by a plate of Ginger Nuts! They think he's high, but he assures them he's on a natural high, because he's "🎝 glad to be aliiiiiive!🎜".

Are those Ginger Nuts? Love Ginger Nuts.

Well, I immediately grabbed my phone and (once again) googled something—Ginger Nuts. They are ginger snack biscuits...aka cookies...aka Ginger Snaps or gingersnaps. Oh, I also love ginger nuts. And I needed to make a batch pronto. While I've made gingersnaps before, that recipe wass less of a traditional gingersnap (crunchy and spicy) and more of a chewy spice cookie with slightly crisp edges. Good, but not an actual gingersnap.

THESE Ginger Nuts however, are the real deal! I started with a recipe from Paul Hollywood that I found on Good to Know, then upped the amount of ginger and added a couple of other special spices based on the reviews. They turned out to be what I consider to be that perfect gingersnap recipe, entirely crunchy with a deep, spicy heat—and they'd work perfectly for making these Ginger Bourbon Balls, a pie recipe or cheesecake with a gingersnap crust!

Impromptu #GingerNutParty! I wasn't the only one whose brain immediately started contemplating a batch of these spicy cookies coming from my oven. I found Diana of Fiction Food Café and Trine of Nerdy Treats already talking about making some on Twitter, so we figured why not all join in the fun!

Check out their versions of Ginger Nuts:

yield: ~56 cookiesAuthor: Heather Schmitt-Gonzalezprint recipe

Ginger Nuts (or Ginger Snaps)

prep time: 1 hour and 10 MINScook time: 15 MINStotal time: 1 hours and 25 mins

Ginger and a couple of surprise spices make these crunchy little cookies perfect for munching (or making a ginger snap crust)!

INGREDIENTS:

340 grams (12 ounces) all-purpose flour
160 grams (5.64 ounces / scant 3/4 cup) brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
113 grams (4 ounces / 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small chunks
1/4 cup golden syrup (or 2 tablespoons molasses + 2 tablespoons light corn syrup)
1 large egg, beaten

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place flour, baking soda, sugar, spices and salt in a large bowl. Use a hand-mixer fitted with whisk attachments to stir everything together. Add the butter and, still using the hand-mixer, mix until coarse crumbs have formed.
Add golden syrup and egg, then pulse until everything combines. At this point, you'll probably start cursing me and pulling out your hair, saying that the mixture hasn't come together. Hold your tongue for now, because it's supposed to look like that (crumbly and dry).
Set the mixer aside, you're done with it. Now, get a clean hand in there and start working and squeezing the mixture together until you have a crumbly, somewhat sandy, looking mass of dough. It'll take a minute or so, as your hands starts to melt the butter crumbles a bit, helping to hold the mass together.
Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap, then set the dough onto it, using your hands to form it into a rough log. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove dough from plastic wrap and place on a lightly floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle that is slightly more than 1/4-inch thick. Use a round cutter than is slightly smaller than 2-inches to cut rounds; gently lift and place them on the prepared baking sheets (I do 15 per sheet, 3 x 5), leaving some space between each.