Weekend Cooking: Ginger Shortbread

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I already reviewed Marie Simmons's Bar Cookies A to Z, and here I am still using this treasure of a cookbook.

I had a very busy week at work and so decided I needed to relax with a little simple baking. I started flipping through the cookbook and didn't get past G. Crystallized ginger, simple shortbread. Yes, this was the perfect bar cookie for me.

The photo is a scan from the book (and all rights remain with the original copyright holder: Susan Marie Anderson).

Ginger Shortbread
24 bars

• 2¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and slightly softened
• ½ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly butter a 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

Combine the flour, brown sugar, ground ginger, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and cut in with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture makes fine crumbs. Add the crystallized ginger and stir with a fork to blend evenly.

With lightly floured fingertips, press the mixture into the prepared baking pan in an even layer over the bottom. Bake on the center rack for about 20 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into bars.