Slice, Slice Baby (Ginger Oat Cookies)

As soon as slice and bake cookies became my “thang” this year, I thought of The Grand Central Baking Book that has been sitting on my shelf for years. It has an entire section devoted to slice and bake cookies. Time to finally pull it off that shelf and put a dent in my vow to cook or bake at least one recipe from every cookbook I own.  I’m glad I did.  I chose the Ginger Oat Cookie, a buttery oatmeal shortbread with ground ginger in the dough and flecked with bits of candied ginger.  It is absolutely delicious. The oatmeal gives it a rustic texture while the ginger adds sweetness and spice. Paired with a cup of hot tea, they are in a word, addicting.  

For the dough, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy then add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Fold in the candied ginger.  The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of candied ginger if you like your cookies “gingery” you can add a smidge more.  Gather the dough with a bench knife (pastry scraper), and divide it in half.  Place each portion on a sheet of parchment paper and pat into a long rectangle.

To form a round log, I fold the parchment over the dough, place a ruler or straight edge on top of it at the base of the dough.  Hold the bottom edge of the paper taut, and push the straight edge into the dough.  To prevent your cookies from having a flat bottom, place each log in PVC tubes (I got mine from Tap Plastic) so they are not resting on a flat surface while chilling.  You could use a paper towel tube, but who keeps those around?

Chill the dough until firm.  The recipe calls for rolling the dough in sugar.  I use just egg white to brush the logs as I’m not a fan of the color imparted by a whole egg wash.  Cut the logs with a sharp or serrated knife.  Don’t worry if it crumbles a little, just smoosh the dough back together. NBD

Since I had two logs, one went in the freezer to save for a rainy day.  Love slice and bake cookies.  Easy peasy.

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Grand Central Bakery Ginger Oat Shortbread Cookies

This buttery brown sugar oatmeal shortbread is a double hit of ginger with pieces of candied ginger and ground ginger infused in the dough. A delicious sweet and spicy cookie perfect with a cup of tea.

Course cookies

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 16 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 -2/3 cup AP flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 -2/3 cup rolled oats old fashioned
• 2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar packed
• 2 tablespoons candied ginger coarsely chopped
• egg white wash 1 egg white beaten with 1 tsp water
• turbinado sugar for rolling

Instructions

• Combine flour, salt and ground ginger into a bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in rolled oats.
• Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment beat butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in candied ginger with a sturdy spatula and divide dough in half. Place each half on a 12 to 14-inch length of parchment paper or waxed paper. Shape the log into a rectangle by flattening the top and sides with your hands. Use the paper to help roll and shape dough into 2 logs, 10 inches in length and roughly 2 inches in diameter.
• Twist the ends of the paper to seal the log and chill until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
• (Logs of shortbread dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.)
• Preheat oven to 325°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly brush each log with egg white wash. Roll log in turbinado or similarly coarse sugar, using some pressure so that sugar adheres to the dough.
• Slice cookies 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick and place 1 inch apart on prepared pans. Bake 16 to 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The cookies are done when they begin to brown slightly around the edges and the centers are still light.