Who knew candy could be a "lifestyle accessory?" Discovered these Bendicks BitterGingers at Central Market (in Washington) over the holidays. Like a peppermint patty but with dark chocolate and ginger. About $6.00 for a tube of 8 disks.
Originally, I was thinking about making these No Sugar Oat Drops, but it being the holidays I decided they were maybe a little too close to a granola bar...a little too healthy (yes, I'm crazy). I even bought the overripe bananas at the grocery in anticipation of making them, but then settled on a batch of Anzac biscuits.
Anzac biscuits are a brilliant invention all their own. Coconut, oats, brown sugar, butter, Lyle's Golden Syrup and a little baking soda and water. What's not to like? But since the holidays are all about gilding the lily, I thought I'd dress 'em up a little. By altering the recipe, it's not strictly an Anzac biscuit anymore, but it's an oaty, coconutty drop of delicious, that's for sure, and with a couple of additional tweaks, it just gets better. So coconut, oats...plus what?
One of the best things I've ever eaten in an airport was a ginger slice in Auckland, New Zealand. Think of a bar cookie with an almost shortbread-like crust, topped with a thick ginger icing. But this is icing with fire power -- the ginger is no afterthought and doesn't play second fiddle to molasses or cinnamon or allspice or anything else.
Right about now everyone goes crazy for gingerbread with its earthy, spicy richness, chock full of molasses, nutmeg, allspice, and oh yeah, ginger. And I'm right there, too. I made a batch of molasses (really, gingerbread) cookies a couple of weekends ago from a Prudence Penny recipe from waaaaaay back. But they weren't much to talk about (um, hard and stale at the same time on day 2?). So then yesterday while doing a little DailyCandy catch up reading, I came across the Meatball Shop's Ginger Cookies recipe with a ginger lover's triple-threat: fresh, ground and, yeah crystallized. No molasses in sight! All I can say is, thank you Daniel Holzman and David Chernow.