These easy South African ginger biscuits remind me of nutticrust biscuits. A popular South African favourite. They are made in own bowl, by hand and bake up in under 20 minutes. They are the perfect teatime treat.

A classic South african ginger biscuit with honey

I am a very big fan of Lynn Bedford Hall, a well-known South African cookbook writer who has written over 20 books. I simply love her book ‘Fig Jam and Foxtrot’, which is a ‘cookbook with a difference. It’s a book set around six fictitious women who live in the fictitious Karoo town of Corriebush. The recipes are diverse and reflect each of the women’s ‘characters’ and heritage and whilst seemingly quite traditional, they have a distinctly modern twist.

one of my favourite South African cook books

They range from ‘Betsie’s’ very traditional South African dishes, to ‘Virginia’s more formal English recipes with a touch of Indian (colonial) influence. We then meet ‘Rosa’, who cooks with love and passion in true Italian style and included is a recipe called ‘Karoo Bolognese’ which I am dying to try.

Enter ‘Olympia’, who is of Greek descent, and brings delicious fresh Mediterranean dishes to the table. Then there is ‘Sylvia’, who is not an established cook and serves up comfort everyday food. Last but not least is ‘Amatilda’, who owns the local coffee shop and brings to the book a selection of easy and delectable homemade treats.

I love the way the six different styles of food are brought together through these six characters, to create a cookbook rich in ‘personality’. Traditional and yet very modern. There are very few cookbooks that can inspire me without one single photograph of the food, and this is book one of them. The cartoonist Tony Grogan does the delightful illustrations.

The ‘farmhouse finger rusks with buttermilk and oats’ is one of my all-time favourite rusk recipes, and I have been meaning to do a post on these.

My next three blog posts are inspired by recipes in this book, and I kick off with one of ‘Sylvie’s recipes for Honeyed Ginger biscuits. Ridiculously simple to make, these are the perfect treat if you are a fan of Nutticrust biscuits. I have adapted the recipe slightly.

You will find an updated version of this recipe with lemon and ginger (soft and chewy)

A few other biscuit recipes you might like:

My best-ever baking recipes on Drizzleanddip

Shortbread biscuit balls with a chocolate middle

Alison Roman’s salted butter & chocolate chip shortbread cookies

Vanilla snap cookies

Peanut butter shortbread

Airfryer choc chip cookies

White chocolate, cranberry & pecan nut cookies

Espresso chocolate chip cookies

I loved the slightly rustic and uneven edges and the nice hard crunchy texture. So crunchy that when you bite into them you can’t hear the TV or your thoughts. It’s exactly the way I like it.

crunchy golden treats to fill up the cookie jar

Prep Time:10

Cook Time:18

Ingredients

250 ml 1 cup cake flour
15 ml 1 Tbs ground ginger
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
125 ml 1/2 cup light brown sugar
125 ml 1/2 cup wholewheat flour (I used Eureka Mills stone-ground premium flour)
125 gm soft butter room temp
5 ml bicarbonate of soda baking soda
15 ml 1 Tbs honey
30 ml 2 Tbs hot water

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F)
Sift all the flour, spice, and salt, adding the leftover wholewheat bits back in
Add the sugar and mix in the butter until you get a crumb-like texture
In a separate bowl mix the honey, bicarb, and water and when it fizzes add it to the mix.
Shape the dough into balls (it was quite dry and only just held together) and arrange spaced out on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking sheet or baking paper,
Press each dough ball down with a fork – you should get around 20 biscuits. I went slightly bigger, so it’s up to you
Bake for 15 – 18 minutes until a nice caramel colour and then remove and cool on a rack. Keep a close eye after 14 minutes as they can burn quite easily.

Notes

This is a delicious biscuit recipe that to fill a biscuit tin.

Bake these for 13 minutes for a softer chewier biscuits.

Servings: 24

Author: Sam

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23 Comments

Sam, these look to die for! Love the look of that book! 🙂 I have her “Fabulous food” book and I love reading through it and making the recipes!

Hi Ally, Thanks hun! I also have her ‘Fabulous Food’ and always find her recipe work out so well (baking). This book is filled with stunning recipes.

I am so going to make these. I have a new cookie press and I think these will work perfectly. Thanks for sharing the review and the recipe.

these look just gorgeous. the dort is an avid baker so ill be sending this off to her to add to her rep 😉 at the moment its Nigella’s choc chip biscuits and trays of biscotti leading the pack; from almond, lemon and cranberry, to chocolate and raisin!
thanks so much 🙂

I’ve never had (or heard of) a Nutticrust biscuit, but these look and sound so intriguing. We’re renting a place before we move cross-country and search for a new home, and I can’t wait to break in a new oven, get back to baking in general! I bet these are perfectly crispy around the edges and tender in the centers — a great first cookie in a new home.

Cheers,

*Heather*

Hi Heather, these are really easy to make but are really crunchy throughout (hence like a Nitticrust). Good luck with your move.

Yum! I am dying to read this book now Sam. Any ideas where one can pick it up?

Hi Jac’s, Ive seen in Exclusives and Im sure in CNA. Other wise if you order off Exclusive Books online (you save around 25%) and the delivery to your nearest store and phone you when it arrives for you to collect. There is also a sequel ‘Return to Corriebush’, which I am very keen to get now.

s x

Hi Maureen, these are a real winner, butnext time I am goign to make them a bit smaller so wont feel as guilty when dipping my paws into the cookie jar 🙂

Rose, you will lvoe this recipe. Its really one of the easiest around. Let me know when you make them. S x

You’re right, they look like nuttikrust! Would love to try them.

I love Lynn Bedford Hall too – such a prolific writer. I used to do photography for her in the 1970s when she had a weekly column in [I think] Pretoria News. She is so talented and so modest and such a brilliant cook and food writer. So agree with you about Fig Jam and Foxtrot, lovely story for a book. Unsung heroine of South African food over more than 4 decades!