Thursday 17 June 2010

Ginger kisses: a mystery solved


I absolutely LOVE ginger kisses and went through a stage of buying them all the time from the supermarket.  They are a baked treat that are a favourite in New Zealand and Australia and are basically two ginger 'cookies' (although the texture is more like cake) with vanilla buttercream in between.  Kinda like a ginger version of the whoopie pie

For years and years, I was obsessed with trying to make these wee gems at home.  I tried dozens of recipes: some were too hard and cookie-like, others too flat and chewy, and others still too dry and springy.  I tried to gingerise whoopie pies, tried recipes for crybabies and pretty much cleared out Pak'n'Save's stock of golden syrup.  I even channelled Todd Wilbur and bought packets of ginger kisses to dissect and photograph and to analyse the ingredients lists.  But alas THE recipe alluded me.

Then one fateful day, I found this recipe in my web trawling.  The difference with this recipe was that it used margarine instead of butter. I had never baked with margarine before so intrigued, I decided to try it out and...Hallelujah! It was The One!  Soft, cakey and gingery, this recipe was so similar to the bought ones that when I took them in to work, people didn't believe that I had made them at home!





C always makes fun of my quest to make ginger kisses.  Why bother, when you can buy them for NZD$3.00 at the supermarket he says.  Well, for starters, home baked goodies are so much better for you than mass produced baking with all it's preservatives, additives and colouring.  And it's heaps fun to get to make your own.  And ok, so I'm a little OCD with that sort of stuff as well; I hit on a food obsession and just can't stop until I've found solved the food mystery.

Have you ever done that? Embark on a mission to recreate a dish or some baking that you've eaten and loved?

*** Update: Have a tinkered with this recipe a little see the update here!***


Soft Ginger Kisses

adapted and tweaked from recipe by musecakes

makes around 36 cookies, or 18 cookie sandwiches

2 cups plain flour
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp water
1/4 cup golden syrup
165g margarine

Preheat oven to 180oC and line three baking trays.

Sift flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt into a bowl.

In another bowl, cream margarine and sugar.  Beat in egg.  Beat in water and golden syrup until combined.

Gradually beat in sifted ingredients on low speed until just mixed in.  ***EDIT Chill dough for around 30 minutes in the fridge to firm up*** Shape to small walnut sized balls with two spoons by running the spoons over each other like you are making a quenelle but round.  Plop the balls on to the baking tray around 4 cm apart.

Bake one tray at a time for 12 minutes.  Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: If you find they are spreading a bit too much, try raising the oven temperature a little.  


Icing 

enough to fill ~ 20 cookie sandwiches

50g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 Tbsp milk, room temperature

Cream butter till fluffy.  Add vanilla and milk and beat to mix.  Add icing sugar and beat untill fluffy.  Pipe a dollop on to the middle of one cookie and use the second cookie to squish the icing out to the edges.

37 comments:

  1. These look great. I tried ginger kisses for the first time a few weeks ago (http://culinaryexplorationsnz.blogspot.com/2010/05/baking-blitz-ginger-kisses.html) - I used Alison Holst's recipe, which I love (though I had to double the filling to suit my wicked sweet tooth!). I don't think I'll ever buy them again, now I know how good they are homemade. Yours look great, too, perhaps next time I'll use your recipe and see how they compare!

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  2. these look lovely! i'm not sure what type of margarine to use though - there are so many different sorts and brands! any suggestions would be really appreciated!

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  3. I used good old meadowlea because it was on special. I think any stock standard marge would work well, but maybe avoid the olive oil based, light or cholesterol lowering ones as they may work differently. Definitely worth a try if you love ginger kisses. They are even better the next day! :)

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  4. I tried making these ginger kisses with butter rather than margarine, and although they became hard and biscuity on cooling, they went soft overnight (I left some out, and others in an airtight container but filled with cream). I might have let them get too soggy, but they tasted great!

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  5. Nom Nom Panda: Oh no, sorry to hear they turned out hard and biscuity! Could be that the butter might have been the culprit? Or perhaps my oven runs a little cool? The mixture should be quite loose and fluffy not hard at all - mousse like even. They do soften further overnight when iced. Glad they tasted good though! Super gingery huh?! Thanks heaps for your comment :)

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  6. HOORAY! We had these (from the supermarket) while visiting NZ a couple of years ago. Why can't we buy them in the shops in US? Anyway, can someone please clarify these ingredients for me: caster sugar, golden syrup, icing sugar (powdered sugar?), and 165g?
    Thanks for any who can help me out with this!

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  7. Hello mamster! Thanks for stopping by :)

    I'll have a go at translating...but anyone out there who's more in the know, please correct me if I'm wrong!

    Caster sugar - I think it's called super fine sugar in the States.

    Golden syrup - this is a type of pale treacle so perhaps you could substitute treacle?? Or maybe one of these substitute recipes would work?? http://www.jamieoliver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=38315

    Icing sugar: I'm pretty sure this is called powedered sugar in USA?

    165g = 165 grams of margerine or 5.82 ounces if that's helpful?

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  8. I am SO glad I found your blog with this recipe! One of the things I miss the most about home is Ginger Kisses and I have searched for years for a recipe and it looks like I have now found the perfect one! I will have to give them a go today:) I live in the US so I can translate the ingredients -
    Castor sugar - yes you could use superfine sugar but I find the regular sugar in the US is a lot finer than in NZ so I just use that:)
    Golden syrup - you can use Brown Sugar Karo syrup. Tastes VERY similar!
    The other two you got perfect!

    Thanks again!

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  9. Thankyou for this!! I look forward to trying it. I couldn't believe taste.com.au didn't have a ginger kiss recipe!

    If you can't access castor sugar where you are, you can just use regular sugar and blend it up a bit first (makes it finer) OR often, you can just add regular sugar to your mixture and just beat it more. My sister often uses regular sugar in her meringues and she's a master at meringues, she just beats it for longer to make sure the sugar is dissolved.

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  10. Hiya Leah! Hope you like the recipe! I literally spent YEARS looking for the right recipe and am so so glad I found this :) Thanks heaps for the caster sugar tip :)

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  11. golden syrup is often available in your local indian market. you might be looking for a green tin. slightly different from the nz version, but same process.

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  12. Oh thank you, thank you...my boys & I all love those little ginger kisses. I made some spicy pumpkin whoopie pies this week which are the closest I've found in taste and texture to gk's. I look forward to giving your recipe a try. I haven't found a filling to match though...hope this one hits the spot!

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  13. Thank you for this recipe, very one said they were better than the shop ones. I will be making them again for sure.

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  14. Hi, made these delicious ginger kisses today, for my partner. Followed the recipe exactly, mixture was light fluffy soft and tasted great. Everything was going great till five minutes after I put them in the oven. They were nice and round and high then within 1 minute they flatten into pancakes and now it looks like I've made gingerbread.
    I tried lifting the oven temperature, lowering the oven temperature, shortening the cooking time & leaving them in longer.
    Nothing is working, they are still lovely and soft and golden brown but just flatter then a pancake. Does anyone have any tips or advice as to why its doing this?

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  15. Killa Jac: Yay very stoked you liked the recipe and they worked out. These are still my fav cookies in the world and glad I can share the love :)

    Happy Dude: Oh no I'm sorry your cookies are spreading...hmmm have you tried chilling the dough a little before baking? Maybe form the balls on a baking sheet and put the sheet in the fridge to chill for 30 mins then bake? Are you using normal margarine or low fat margarine? The low fat version (and olive oil versions) don't work in the recipe as well. Do you live at elevation? That might also affect the rise. Really hope they work out for you...please do let me know how you get on! :)

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  16. Hi Nessie,

    Hmm tried it again they don't really spread that much, they start out perfect size and shape then they just lose height. Just normal margarine, I think its canola stuff I use for everything else. I am on a slight elevation but it shouldn't affect it too much, my cakes are fine :S Still tastes great though, just they way they do at the shops.

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    1. Thanks so much for keeping me updated! So sorry I don't know what that fix is! Will have a play around next time I make these. Thanks again for letting me know! :)

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  17. Nessie... is it you making ginger kisses for Cumulus? Am I allowed to ask... they're amazing!

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    1. Hi Bozzie65, Alas no I am merely an ameteur baker and have not ventured into the pro realm! Where abouts is Cumulus?

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  18. Have you tried using maple syrup?

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    1. Hi there, sorry no I haven't tried with maple - would taste lovely I bet! Golden Syrup is a bit more viscous in texture so I wonder how it would change the consistency. Would be a delicious experiment though! Let me know if you do end up trying it!

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  19. I made these last week and everyone loved them! Although as a redhead asking people if they wanted a ginger kiss was a little awkward. I'm looking forward to trying out a few more recipes from your blog

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    1. Hahaha!! That is awesome! Stoked that you liked them and may even have got a few smooches out of it?? :P

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  20. My 6yo daughter is in love with the weight watchers ginger kiss bars and i am so happy i found this recipe to make her for school lunches! Thank you

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    1. You are absolutely welcome! Very happy to hear your lovely daughter got to have some :)

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  21. I thought the cakey bits were just right. I might substitute a touch of treacle for some of the golden syrup next time, just to give them a little more colour.

    I wonder whether anybody has found any way of cutting through the sweetness of the icing though? I made it exactly to the recipe above and found it a bit on the sweet side.

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    1. Thanks for the great feedback! You could try a flour based frosting (http://www.bakingequalslove.com/2010/09/black-forest-cupcakes-with-flour.html) or a swiss meringue buttercream as the frosting (http://www.bakingequalslove.com/2011/09/sticky-date-cake-with-butterscotch.html) as they are less sweet? :)

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  22. I'm 4 months pregnant and craving ginger kisses. Not overly helpful that I'm living in Europe and no-one seems to know what they are here.

    Looks like I'll be baking this weekend! :)

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    1. Congrats on your wee bundle of joy! Hope the recipe worked out for you and things are going well with your bubba!

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  23. Hi, thanks so much for this recipe, I have blogged about my Ginger Kisses with a link back to your site, http://gourmetquilterblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/mmmmm-ginger-kisses/ please do pop in and have a look, I have put up picture. Thanks again, they were delicious!

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    1. Thanks again - they look great! Love the decorations :)

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  24. Joyful experience! We found your site and made them straight away! Also adapted the receipe to what we had in the cupboard ( added a secret ingredient) they were too delicious to share ....but we made heaps and had enough to go around. Thanks for sharing:)

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    1. Very happy you liked them! I often have a hard time sharing them too :P

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  25. We have not eaten ginger kisses since leaving NZ for the Middle East 7 years ago, we made your ginger kisses last night and just about devoured all of them, exactly as we remember the bought ones. Thanks for the recipe!

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    1. Thanks for your lovely feedback! Your comment has made my day! Very very happy that you can enjoy ginger kisses abroad - not sure how I'd survive without them!! :)

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  26. Hi! Tried this recipe today as I've been looking for ways to making ginger kisses spongy like the shop-bought ones. I finally found it, thank you for the recipe. I have a packet of gingerbread mix sitting in the pantry and simply added water, an egg and margarine and the result is soft and spongy! Next time I will try to make them from scratch. The main thing is I know the secret of making ginger kisses spongy. :)

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  27. I was after a ginger kisses recipe to make my family for Valentines day and this recipe popped up. I was thrilled to discover it is from the blog of an old rangi school mate. They turned out wonderfully and your blog is beautiful! Kelly (Marsh back then)

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