Comments on: Gingerbread cookies: They’re not just for Christmas anymore.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:01:27 +0000

I love Baker’s Banter and was psyched to see your comment on my site, PJ. An honor, to be sure.

These cookies are wonderful. They were so easy, quick, and DELICIOUS.

By: Julianna

Julianna — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:30:17 +0000

After the ginger pieces have been drained of the syrup, are they usable in a crystallized ginger sense for the cookies?

Yes, if you peel the ginger before you make the syrup - I don’t usually bother to peel. Also, you’d need to dry them out - just leave them sitting out till they’ve dried off. Good idea! PJH

By: Casey

Casey — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:09:00 +0000

These are EXACTLY the kind of gingerbread cookie I was looking for. I made the ginger
syrup (very easy) about 6 weeks ago when I found some gorgeous organic ginger at the
market. I used Trader Joe’s UNcrystallized Candied Ginger and couldn’t for the life of my
Cuisinart make it chop up as finely as desired. I resorted to re-sifting it, adding the sugar
only to the butter and then using the finely chopped ginger added in with the flour. They’re not as chewy as I hoped, but I’m sure that’s a consequence of my less than perfect oven (whose heating element is on the top of the oven). I’ve only eaten two (major YUM), the rest will go with me to the store tomorrow to treat my employees who all love the flavor of ginger. Thank you for the precise directions posted on the Bakers’ Banter page.

By: Carla Lapierre

Carla Lapierre — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:09:55 +0000

I used apple cider for the water in the syrup recipe it is really good. We used the syrup in place of map;e syrup on crepes. My Quebecois husband even conceeded that this was special abandonning his sirop d’erable for this meal.
Having read the problem about the over thickened syrup. When the weather is due to be stormy water boils away much faster. Perhaps Amy was cooking on a day when weather was due?

By: PJ Hamel

PJ Hamel — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:43:48 +0000

Amy, two possibilities: I didn’t make the link to the recipe very clear, so maybe you didn’t use the right amount of water? The recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups of water and 3 1/2 cups of sugar, along with 14 ounces of ginger root. The other thing is, it should simmer - pretty vigorously, but it shouldn’t be a hard, rolling boil. It sounds to me like either you didn’t use enough water, for some reason; or it simply boiled away too quickly. I’m sorry! I’ve never seen this happen before…

By: Amy R. Cape

Amy R. Cape — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:23:52 +0000

I made the Soft Ginger cookies today, and they came out wonderfully. However, I had trouble making the ginger syrup. I followed the directions for slicing the ginger, adding the water and sugar, and bringing it to a boil. I inserted a candy thermometer and waited until it reached the required temperature, which in my case took only about 10 minutes, far less than the 45-60 minutes called for in the recipe. I even double checked the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. I removed it from the heat, strained it in a sieve, and had a nice thick clear syrup. I left it on the counter in a glass measuring cup. Within about 10 minutes, it began to crystalize. Within about 1/2 hour, it had solidified into a pale beige, opaque mass. I was able to soften it by sitting the glass cup in a pan of boiling water, but it remained opaque and grainy so I threw it out. What did I do wrong?