Grantham Gingerbread Recipe (Ginger Crunchies)
Grantham Gingerbreads have a sweet crunchy shell with a hollow honeycomb centre. They are quite different to the other forms of gingerbread.
Ingredients
250 g (9 oz or 2 cups) self raising flour 1½ tsp ground ginger 115 g (4 oz or 1/2 cup) butter or baking margarine (softened) 340 g (12 oz or 1 2/3 cups) caster sugar 1 egg, lightly beaten
Grantham Gingerbread Recipe
Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F or Gas mark 2 or 140°C for a fan oven).
Prepare two baking sheets by either greasing or lining with a non-stick tray liner.
In a medium bowl sift the flour and ginger, then mix together.
In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together. I use a handheld electric whisk for this.
Add the egg to the butter-sugar mix about a third at a time, mixing in well.
Add the flour-ginger to the rest of the mix about a third at a time. Use a spoon to mix it in. The mixture will get quite stiff when you mix in the final third of the flour.
When well mixed take a piece of dough and roll into a ball about the size of a walnut (two tablespoons). Place on a baking sheet and do the same with the rest of the dough. There is no need to squash the dough balls at all, they naturally flatten out when cooking.
Bake in the centre of the oven for 40-45 minutes.
When cooked cool on a wire rack. I added dark chocolate as a topping to half of my batch.
Store in an airtight container or biscuit / cookie tin.
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- Butter and sugar
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- Butter & Sugar creamed together
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- Egg mixed in
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- Grantham Gingerbread dough
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- Dough balls ready for baking
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- Dough balls ready for baking
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- Grantham Gingerbreads
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- Grantham Gingerbread
Looks tempting! but are you sure about the timing ’cause I know you’re not supposed to bake cookies for more than 15 minutes, but I’ve done it just like you said and they came out solid rock. Also they didn’t crack beautifully like the picture.
Hi Goonie
40-45 minutes is correct, I’m not sure what went wrong with yours. They should come out crunchy and hollow, not solid.
You could try adding some more raising agent (baking powder), possibly the self raising flour you have doesn’t contain as much as the flour I used.
Dave
Hi Dave,
I’ve changed the SR flour brand and tried it again, it came out better than previous one but still a bit solid.
I think it doesn’t contain butter enough, or is the dough supposed to be sandy?
and thank you I really like your recipes and how you affirm every step with a picture I really appreciate it.
Maybe try adding a bit more butter and also some more baking powder or baking soda. That should hopefully make the dough softer and help it expand better.
I always use butter and one tsp of bicarbonate of soda perfect every time
I cook mine at 140c but only for 20 mins, just till they start to turn light brown. This comes from my Mums recipe which is the same apart from cooking time, I have made them for many years and they always come out perfect. crunchy on outside and slightly chewy on inside. Eating one I made today umm Perfect!
Hi Goonie, have you managed a successful batch yet? I’ve been making these for years (from and old Good Housekeeping recipe book my mum had when I was a child, if I remember correctly!). I think perhaps your problem may be something to do with squishing the dough together too much when you roll it into balls? Try just making them into rough balls, not squishing the mixture together too much…then you’ll get the cracks and the hollow centre 🙂 Hope that helps!
Thanks very much for chipping in with that advice Cakey Bakey Goodness! This recipe is from an old Good Housekeeping book I have, I wonder if it’s the same one? Cookery in colour I think it’s called. It has colour photos of some the recipes. Unfortunately my copy has fallen apart, and the photo pages aren’t numbered, the recipes don’t give descriptions of what they’re like either. So you have to guess from the ingredients and instructions as to how the recipe will turn out.
I also put way more ginger in, 2 tbs I like them to be very gingery, have also added whiskey but you need to balance liquid with more flour. Stem ginger cut into small pieces can be added too. Good luck
can these be adapted for someone who has celiac desease??
Hi Kay
I’m not sure, but I would guess they should probably be okay since cake flour isn’t particularly high in gluten. I might try making some with rice flour and then post back here to let you know how it goes.
Dave
thanks. I know my friend cannot use ordinary flour
adapts well to gluten free flours – have used both commercial self raising flour and plain flour plus bicarb soda and cream of tartar to make these.
Just made these, exactly as per the recipie, perfect! 🙂
Tasted great but disappointed as they didn’t puff up very much but possibly I needed to add more baking powder. You can’t buy Self Raising Flour in the small town Germany where I live now. I had a book (which unfortunately I didn’t bring with me) with a super recipe for Ginger Granthams which used two lots of sugar – caster and demerara. Does anyone know of this recipe?
just tried your recipe and it looks great in the oven all beautifully puffed up and delicious, I ran out of caster sugar so added some golden granulated about 3 ounces. just longing to try them. Thanks for a great recipe.
I stumbled upon this recipe while trying to figure out what kind of biscuits my granny made in my childhood.
Have now made them three or four times – easy to bake and they can hold up to messing up a bit (the last time I guessed the ginger wrongly and did a terrible job with the butter – and they’re still just fine).
I recommend using a light brown sugar as an alternative to caster sugar – the colour ends up more gingery looking and I slightly prefer the flavour.
I have just tried your recipe but wonder if there is to much sugar as my turned out very sweet. Can you use less sugar as i have Type Two Diabetes and can not have to much sugar.Apart from that they turned out great.Regards David
I followed the recipe but I could not taste any ginger.
Very crispy cooked 42 Minutes @ 140C.
I’m trying to find the recipe for the Graham Gingerbreads my mother used to make. Hers were almost white and beautifully risen so they more spherical then those I have made following this recipe. They were just as sweet but much more gingery. I wonder if I should change the sugar and add baking powder to the mix.
Those I have made are very crispy and somewhat honeycomb, but hers were almost hollow with very open honeycomb. She used the Behroe recipe books for much of her baking.
18th and 19th August 2022 and have made your Grantham Gingerbread On 2 separate days and both times they come out ROCK HARD !! and empty in the middle. Have you got a solution as to make them ie: soft or honeycomb in the inside if the biscuit. Would 2 eggs make the dough better. Thank you. Nottingham.