Honey Ginger Snaps

On the 1st July it's National Ginger Snap Day in the USA, so if you need an excuse to bake yourself some sweet ginger biscuits, then why not make some to celebrate with our American cousins!

Ginger snaps are said to have originated in Germany and the 'snap' part of the name actually comes from the German word snappen which means to “to seize quickly” and is not a reference to the iconic 'snap' of the biscuit as you might think. In some parts of the world they are made to be quite soft like an American cookie. However in the UK (with our penchant for dunking biscuits in a cuppa!) most people prefer a ginger snap to be quite snappy.

Our Just Bee ginger snaps are truly scrumptious, quick to bake and very easy to make. Delightfully crisp, they are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee and yes, they will hold up to a dunking too!

This recipe will make 12-14 biscuits.

Time to make and bake: around 20 minutes

To make our honey ginger snaps you will need:

• 50g unsalted butter
• 50g white sugar
• 2 tbsp of Original Just Bee Honey
• 100g plain flour
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp of baking powder

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• A small saucepan
• A silicon spatula or wooden spoon
• A thin fish slice
• A mixing bowl
• A sieve
• 2 large baking trays/sheets

Let’s get baking!

Step One: Preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4 or 180c (170c for fan assisted ovens). It won't take long to make the ginger snap mixture so don't delay!

Step Two: Combine Butter, Sugar and Honey.

Add the butter, sugar and honey to the saucepan and heat gently on a low hob for a few minutes. Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and the ingredients are combined. When the mixture starts to bubble turn off the heat and set aside for now.

Step Three: Sieve!

Using the sieve sift the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon and baking powder into the mixing bowl and combine these dry ingredients using a spatula. Keep going until the ginger looks evenly distributed.

Step Four: Mix wet and dry ingredients.

Add the honey butter mixture from the saucepan into the bowl and stir into the dry ingredients until you have a smooth thick batter. A silicon spatula is recommend and once combined it should leave the bowl fairly clean.

Step Five: Make the Biscuits.

Using a teaspoon scoop up heaped spoonful’s of mixture from the bowl and drop the mixture onto the baking sheets, there's no need to grease or line the trays, the baked snaps will not stick. You don't have to worry about trying to shape the ginger snaps, they will melt down and spread out to make a nice biscuit shape. Just make sure to leave enough room for them to spread; they will end up around the size of a typical rich tea or digestive biscuit.

Step Six: Get them in the oven!

Pop the trays into the centre of the oven for 10 minutes. After six minutes you can turn the trays around and swap the shelf they are on for the most even bake, although this might not be necessary in a modern electric oven.  

Step Seven: Let them cool!

Remove the trays from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes on top of the oven or on a heatproof surface. Once the trays are cool enough to handle use a fish slice to carefully move the snaps to a cooling rack. They will still be a little soft but will get considerably snappier as they cool down fully!

Notes and ideas

While best eaten freshly baked or within a few days, they will keep well up to a week in an airtight container.

Swap our Original Vitamin Honey for our Lemon & Ginger for an extra kick!

If you like your ginger snaps a little softer and chewier, then reduce the cooking time by a couple of minutes.

If you like an extra spicy snap or just fancy an alternative for a change, try adding ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper and/or ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves in addition to the ginger and cinnamon.