ginger crunch bars

Whenever I see a recipe that calls for using pure coconut or pure ginger in it's all natural form I'm in.
I love baking with ginger, love eating it when I get sushi and love using it at home in stir fry dishes.
And ever since I finally invested in a good ginger peeler, it's been a lot easier to slice and dice it up.
Sure I used to be lazy about using fresh ginger because it was a pain to peel, but if you get a small peeler or even one that's made for ginger you'll see how much more you use fresh ginger.
And it's still one of those produce items that hasn't gone way up in price, and has a pretty good shelf life in the fridge.
When David Lebovitz made these he warned us of how addicting they were.
He wasn't kidding--these are seriously good.
Just the right amount of ginger to butter to icing ratio.
Tastes like a shortbread with a fresh, clean burst of ginger and a nice gentle caramel undertone--heavenly I tell you.
Be warned!
I followed the recipe exactly, but added in some salt and also topped them off with toasted
ginger on top.
I highly suggest adding on the toasted ginger on top,  if not for the smells the toasting ginger leaves in the house.

ginger crunch bars

From davidlebovitz.com 

print recipe

cook notes:

I used an 8-inch tart pan with removable bottom.  You could use another size tart pan with removable bottom.

cookie base

9 TB unsalted butter, room temp

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup flour

1 ts baking powder

1 1/2 ts ground dried ginger (I used 2 TB)

(I added a giant pinch of sea salt)

icing

5 TB unsalted butter

2 TB golden syrup

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 TB ground dried ginger (I used 1 & ½ TB)

Toasted ginger for decoration, optional but wonderful

(I toasted about 1/8 - ¼ cup of sliced/grated fresh ginger on parchment paper in the oven (350 degrees) for about 5-10 minutes until “just” golden brown).

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Butter and/or spray up a 8 or 13-inch rectangular tart pan.

You can use a stand mixer—I mixed by hand.  

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and ginger.

Mix the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture until well combined. Turn the dough out onto the pan and spread it out, making sure to get into all the corners.  It’s not a sticky dough, so this part should be relatively easy.

Bake the dough for 18-20 minutes, until it’s light golden brown or if you want really crunchy then golden brown --  I did somewhere in between.

When the dough is almost done baking, make the icing by heating the butter and golden syrup over low heat in a small pan; add in the powdered sugar and ginger.  Keep stirring until it’s all smooth. Take off heat.

Once the cookie dough is done baking pour the icing over the top (I used about 3/4 of it).  When smoothing out the icing try not to let it get into the edges.  You want the edges to be seen as it gives a nice decorative appeal when it’s all cooled.

Decorate with the toasted ginger, optional.

Let this sit for at least 30 minutes to let the icing harden up/set up. 

If your kitchen is hot, then pop in the fridge.

Use a sharp knife to slice into bars or squares.