2 ounces bittersweet chocolates, chopped
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup instant dissolving sugar (also known as fruit/berry sugar or superfine sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1 cup chopped crystallized ginger
Preheat oven to 300 F. In heatproof bowl over saucepan of hot (not boiling) water, melt chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. Meanwhile, in bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Stir in chocolate and vanilla. Add flour and salt; stir until blended. Mix in chopped crystallized ginger. Divide into 4 equal parts and chill 2 hours or until firm. Turn onto lightly floured work surface and roll out to 1/4" thickness. Cut with cookie cutters and place cookies on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 30 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Note: We saw this recipe on an episode of Canadian Living Cooks (possibly by Elizabeth Baird).
Angela Dec 24, 2002
Would make this again.
It was perfect!!! I never tasted sucha cookie!! I congratulate you on it!
RESPONSE: We'd love to take the credit but we saw this recipe on a Canadian Living Cooks episode.
A cookie baker in Canada Dec 9, 2002
Would make this again.
This is a really interesting recipe. Don't confuse this with gingerbread; it's nothing like it. This is really a shortbread cookie. The crystallized ginger, a rather exotic ingredient, gives it a wonderful flavor of fresh ginger, not dried, but it doesn't permeate the entire cookie, it comes in bursts each time you bite into one of the pieces of ginger. I had trouble chopping my crystallized ginger into small enough pieces so I softened it with hot water for a couple of minutes; that worked fine. This is a rather grown up cookie for grown-up tastes. For a more refined look, I would make the cookies all one shape - all stars, or all round, rather than making them into Santas or reindeer. Next time I will also sprinkle them with some sanding sugar on top to make them glisten and look more festive.
