Ginger Aberffraw Cakes
Pretty Welsh shell-shaped cookies with a legend behind them.
Servings 8 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup (150 g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 8 tbsp (1 stick) (100 g) butter, cubed, plus more for greasing
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- 1 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with butter.
- Put flour and sugar into a large bowl. Cut in the cubed butter with your hands, rubbing it into the flour/sugar mixture. Add the ginger and continue rubbing just until the mixture is starting to bind together.
- Knead gently until you have a smooth dough that can be formed into a ball. (If dough is too dry to come together, add a bit more butter or a small squirt of lemon juice.)
- Roll the dough into 8 to 10 smaller balls of equal size, depending on the size of the scallop shell you'll be using. (I used a large 4" scallop shell and got 8 large cookies).
- Lightly dust the scallop shell with flour and sugar. Starting roughly in the lower middle, start pressing out a ball of dough against the shell to impress it, evening the thickness and shaping the edges as you go.
- Carefully prise the cookie off the shell and place on a greased baking sheet, then repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Bake at 375°F for 10-15 minutes, or just until a pale golden brown.
Notes
*I find this to be just the right amount of ginger but if you want your cookies really spicy, add another 1/2 teaspoon of the fresh ginger.
*Some people roll out the dough, cut it into round cookies, and then impress them with the shell, but I don't think these end up nearly as pretty or shell-like. Besides, it's fun to press out the cookies on the shells, and I'm borrowing this method from the charming Tilley, featured in this video from The Recipe Hunters.