Some spices are the heart of baking; cinnamon brightens up even the plainest apple pie, cloves are perfect for Christmas recipes and vanilla has become a default ingredient just like a pinch of salt. It is interesting how the spices we normally consider ‘savory’ work so well in baking, too!
At first it may seem crazy to be adding curry mix to sugar cookies, but believe me these cookies are completely out of this world! The taste is unique and with a very slight spicy hint that works so well with candied ginger.
Curry and ginger sugar cookies
Adapted from Johnny Iuzzini
Recipe makes 16 cookies
- ⅓ c/ 2.33 oz/ 70 g unsalted butter, chopped
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten, divided in half
- seeds from ½ vanilla bean
- 1.5 cm/ 3 g fresh ginger, finely grated
- ¾ c/ 3.5 oz/ 105 g all-purpose flour
- ½ c/ 1.5 oz/ 45 g icing sugar
- ½ t mild curry powder
- ¼ t salt
- ½ c/ 3.33 oz/ 100 g light brown sugar for coating
- 8 candied ginger pieces, halved
- large pinch of coarse sea salt
- In a big bowl, beat the butter with half egg, vanilla bean seeds and grated ginger until light and pale.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, icing sugar, curry powder and salt.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to butter mixture mixing until just combined with a wooden spoon before the next addition.
- Roll the dough into a long cylinder ~1.5″/ 4 cm thick, wrap it tightly in parchment paper or cling film and chill in the fridge for 1.5-2 hrs or until hardened (or freeze for a shorter period of time).
- Preheat the oven to 355ºF/ 180ºC classic or 320ºF/ 160ºC fan-forced. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or Silpain baking mat. Place the brown sugar into a large plate.
- Roll the chilled dough on the counter back and forth to smoothen out any imperfections. Remove the wrapping.
- Brush the dough all over with the remaining egg and roll in sugar. Slice into ¼”/ 0.8-1 cm rounds.
- Transfer to the prepared tray spacing the cookies 0.8-1″/ 1.5-2 cm apart. Brush the tops with remaining egg wash and place a piece of candied ginger in the centre of each cookie, pressing it in lightly. Sprinkle the cookies with some salt.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Keep in airtight container for up to 3-5 days.
