I’ve been waiting for this for quite a long time.

Christmas.

Ginger, Clove, Cinnamon.

It’s that fuzzy feeling you get inside when you hear those jolly festive songs.

Yes, you know it. I’m in my bathroom every night blasting christmas cheer from my iPad, dancing in the shower. Yes, in November.

It’s the twinkling red lights above you, making you smile as you battle against the wind whilst your scarf blows into your eyes.

I love going all out crazy and buying too many presents that I can’t afford.

Lets face it, christmas food is all about baking… and the odd Turkey here and there. But mainly gingerbread and mince pies and stuff.

But let’s be realistic. I dream of the kind of woman I want to be in the future. A glamorous woman who spends all day whipping up amazing treats in the kitchen, frolicking around in a frilly apron. Looking perfect, not a speck of flour on me. Care-free.

But I want a business too. And when ever have I done any baking and not left the kitchen without butter in my hair.

So, for those who don’t live a life of leisure, this is a freezer stash of cookies to keep you in the spirit of christmas during those ‘all the shops are crammed with people and I haven’t gotten any presents yet’ days.

Oh, and fresh ginger in cookies? Trust me, its worth it.

Ingredients

225g Unsalted Butter, softened
170g Caster Sugar
145g Light Brown Sugar, soft
2 Eggs
3 tbsp. Treacle
1 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Tbsp. Freshly grated Ginger
1/4 tsp each of Ground Cinnamon, Ground Clove and Fresh Grated Nutmeg
440g Plain Flour
1 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder

Method

Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. In a jug combine the eggs, treacle, vanilla, grated ginger and spices. Slowly combine these into the creamed butter/sugar, making sure not to split the mix. If this does happen, add a little of your flour to bring it back together.

Next combine the flour, salt, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl. Whilst your cookie dough is mixing, slowly add in the dry ingredients. Once your dough is combined, split it into 2 and wrap in cling film. Refrigerate the mix for 30 minutes, this will make it easier to handle later on.

Take one of your dough’s out of the fridge and split it in two. Roll it into a log, about 15-20cm long depending on how big you want your cookies, remember.. they spread! Then roll your log into baking paper and stash in the freezer ready for later. Repeat with the rest of your dough so you have 4 cookie logs.

If you don’t want to bake all your cookies now, just leave the logs in the freezer for up to 1 month and grab them out whenever your need a quick fix!

Pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees C. Once your logs have frozen: takes about 1 hour (they can be a little soft.) Take one out, place it on a chopping board, and start slicing them at about 1/2cm – 1cm thick, you may want to leave it for 2 minutes to soften ever so slightly if they are completely frozen. Have a plate of sugar ready so that you can press both sides of the cookies into the sugar to give them a lovely crunchy top.

Place on a non-stick baking tray (or baking paper is just fine) about 2 inches apart, depending on how big you’ve cut your biscuits. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on your biscuits after the first 5 minutes, unless you want crisp cookies. These can over bake very quickly.

TIP: If you want chewy in the middle cookies, take them out of the oven a bit earlier than you think. When you press them, they will seem underdone and too soft to take off the tray. Leave the to cool on the tray and then remove. And voila! Perfectly soft cookies.