I’m going through a serious biscuit obsession at the moment. I used to be all about chocolate but since switching to a more plant-based diet, biscuits are my new go-to for a sugar hit. And Gingernuts are up there as one of my most favourites.
These Gingernuts have everything you’d expect from any ginger biscuit. Syrupy sweetness. A ginger hit that packs a punch. And a beautiful crunchy texture. If like me that’s a combination you can’t resist, be prepared to eat the entire batch – these really are addictive!
I also consider myself lucky that the kids aren’t big fans of Gingernuts or Gingerbread which means more for me! A cup of tea with a Gingernut (or four…) is the perfect afternoon treat, especially when you aren’t being harassed by kids to share.
And I know I say this a lot but this recipe really is so simple to make. It calls for a few ingredients and really takes no time at all to make a decent batch of irresistible little biscuits.
Ingredients:
Ground Ginger
An obvious ingredient but a vital one too. I’ve experimented with quantities of ground ginger and found 2tsp to be a nice balance between a distinct ginger taste, whilst not being too weak or overpowering.
Caster Sugar
Biscuits need a bit of sweetness and these Gingernuts are no exception. Caster sugar is preferable over Granulated in most baking, due to it’s finer texture. You could swap for Golden Caster sugar for a more caramlised flavour.
Golden Syrup
As well as adding extra sweetness to these beautiful little biscuits, Golden Syrup also helps with the flavour and texture. The familiar warming taste of the syrup comes through alongside the ginger and it also lends itself to the crunch any good biscuit should have.
Butter or Margarine
Either will do and it’s personal preference to which you choose. I opt for margarine as a way to omit the dairy but you can use any butter you have to hand.
Self-raising Flour
These biscuits don’t need much of a rise but they do reply on the raising agent in Self-raising Flour to puff them up a little in baking, before the flatten back down, giving them that lovely cracked texture on top.
What is Golden Syrup?
Golden Syrup is a popular baking ingredient in the UK… But what is it? Where can you get it? And what can you use as a substitute?
My in-depth Golden Syrup Guide has all the answers to your questions!
Love this? Try this:
INGREDIENTS
- 85 g Butter or Margarine
- 115 g Golden Syrup
- 225 g Self-raising Flour
- 2 tsp Ground Ginger
- 115 g Caster Sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°c (160°c for fan assisted ovens or Gas Mark 4) and grease a few baking sheets with a little butter and set aside.
- Add the butter/margarine and golden syrup to a small pan and gently warm over a low-medium heat, until just melted. Alternatively in a microwave-proof bowl, in short bursts in the microwave.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, ground ginger and sugar, before adding the melted butter/margarine and syrup. Mix well to create a sticky dough.
- Roll the dough into balls (about 1 tbp of dough per ball) and place onto your pre-greased baking sheets, with a reasonable amount of space between them - they do spread whilst baking.
- Bake in your pre-heated oven for 10-15 minutes until golden. Once cool enough to touch, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
Free-from & Vegan
Nut-free: Despite the name suggesting otherwise, these Gingernuts don’t actually contain any nuts. Just be sure to check your individual ingredients for any hidden nuts.
Dairy-free: Simply use a dairy-free margarine as opposed to butter. This will also make your Gingernuts vegan.
42 responses
can’t wait to try it & thanks again
Golden syrup cake – absolutely heavenly. One of the best loaf cakes i have made.
A lot of ginger biscuits recipes have bicarbonate of soda in but not these?
Nope.
Can I add stem ginger in a syrup ?
Recently made Carrot cake….a first class winner
Ooh! So moreish!
These are delicious! So quick and easy to make too – will definitely be making these again. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
What can you use instead of Golden Syrup. Can’t get it here. Thanks.
https://bakingwithgranny.co.uk/tips/golden-syrup/
I’ve heard and tried maple syrup works well1
I’ve tried a few of your recipes now and every one has turned out perfect so far. I can’t wait to have a go at these. However my baking skills / knowledge are somewhat limited and this may seem like a stupid question, but I’ll ask anyway! When you say roll in to balls, do you mean literally that kinda like golf balls or do you mean into rounds / biscuit shapes?
like a ball.
Like golf balls, only smaller!
Super easy recipe. Taste really good – made a double batch (some for the neighbours too!!) and added 5 teaspoons ground ginger and also a pinch of salt. They were perfect! Love the “Baking with Granny” website. Am going to adapt recipe with different flavours.
Recently made shortbread biscuits using your recipe, I’ve had lots of failures with others but yours turned out perfect. THANKYOU.
Will try Gingernuts soon.
Just made these and they are delicious
Love love love these! So easy and quick to make and everyone loves them. Ive also made cinnamon biscuits, substituting the ginger with ground cinnamon.
Thanks for the recipe! :)
I’ve tried the ginger nut recipe four times now and had no success; they seem fine when I take them out of the oven but when cooled are brick hard and literally impossible to bite through. I’ve tried lowering the temp but no success; I am meticulous about weighing too. HELP any ideas
With hard biscuits I find taking them out slightly earlier to be key – if I baked 15mins last batch then I try 12 this time, also if they are still rock hard leave them out on the counter for a couple of days covered with a tea towel if you have pets or fruit flies, the slight moisture in the atmosphere helps. However I have not yet tried these biscuits so cannot promise this will help.
Omg amazing and so easy!
I swapped the ginger for cinnamon and added some raisins they were gorgeous
Delicious. I made a half-batch as I was almost out of golden syrup and they made just enough for an after dinner treat. They were so quick to make too – they were made, shaped and cooked in less than 25 minutes. Will definitely be making these again!
I’ve made this recipe as few time and they biscuits have always turned out great. I gave my brother some and he keeps asking when am I going to make some more.
Just found your Web site done 2 date and wall nut cakes wow turned out brilliant can’t wait to try them…. Going to try your ginger biscuits also will be using your site again….. Thank you..
Recommend any none to try your site rating 5 stars
These are great! I substituted half the Golden Syrup with the syrup of jarred stem ginger and I added 3 chopped stem gingers too. They were very yummy and very gingery – just how we like them!
Works everytime and have used fresh ginger,and my husband loves them for their dunk ability
Doubled recipe, added a heaped tbsp of ginger a opposed to the amount in recipe. They turned out perfect. However I do feel that a pinch of salt is necessary
Does the recipe call for Ground fresh ginger or ginger powder?
Absolutely gorgeous, the best ginger biscuit recipe I have attempted. Easy and quick to do, and not too many ingredients either.
I tried these and added a little salted caramel and white chocolate chips and they are delicious. Needed at last minute and were so good. Plus I only roughly rolled them and then forked them. Thank you. May try creaming butter and sugar next time.
I have made these a few times, the best ginger nut ever! The only issue that I have is that they don’t spread, so I use a cookie scoop to put these on the tray and then I end up having to flatten them with my hand during baking. I don’t know where I’m going wrong. I do half the sugar and syrup as I like them less sweet. Any advice will be great
If you halve the syrup then you’re reducing the moisture content, so the dough will be harder. You could try adding the juice of a lemon, or treacle / molasses for a more syrupy substitute.
I think you will find if you halve the sugar and syrup (esp the syrup) the ability to spread is vastly diminished. You could try having a much wetter mix by adding water, but they will take much longer to bake. Or you could add more butter.
Doubled recipe, added a heaped tbsp of ginger a opposed to the amount in recipe. They turned out perfect. However I do feel that a pinch of salt is necessary
Im a carrot top ginger biccis r yummy
Hi there I’ve always baked your biscuits qnd before they were cracking qnd looking amazing but the last few batches they have not cracked at all and also are not spreading nicely im not sure cause I am doing the recipe the same qny advice for me
Made these today, ginger nut biscuits are my go to for a dunk. So simple to make and lovely flavour, I had a few issues with the baking, 1 tray were slightly overdone and have gone very hard, I will still eat them as I will dunk them in my coffee. The other tray was much better maybe a bit under,not the fault of the recipe but other than your shortbread biscuits I am very inexperienced in baking and especially biscuits. I will try again as they are a really lovely flavour.
These Gingernuts go down a treat in my house. I added 1 extra teaspoon of ginger. So easy to make
I have made these a number of times for different occasions, made them for work a few times, they went down a treat, everyone loves them, they are never around for long.
Always double the ingredients and use 3 teaspoons ground ginger and use base of a glass to flatten
Always turn out good
Crispy and chewy
What a delightfully simple recipe. I used only 1 teaspoon of ground ginger and Billington’s Golden Caster Sugar. It produced 22 lovely, slightly chewy biscuits, with enough ginger so as not to be overpowering. Would recommend this to ANYONE. Thank you..