Gingersnaps/Gingerchews (vegan)

Friends! Autumn is upon us! Hooray! Autumn is my favourite time of year. It's as though there's some sort of chilly, golden magic in the air. As I write now, rugged up in bed with a big jumper and a cuppa, the leaves of the golden rain tree outside my window are a vibrant, electric orange. The garden is damp with much-needed rain and there's a glorious chill in the breeze. Heaven.

On these chilly days, I find myself migrating towards anything that contains a bit of fiery ginger, some warming cinnamon or (let's be honest) anything with a sweet edge to it. These lovely little biscuits have all three. This recipe was originally from the wonderful blogger Fareisle, but I've modified it a little to include ingredients that are a little easier to access. It's funny, a lot of people are wary of fresh ginger (yes, these have fresh ginger in them!) but these have been riotously popular with everyone who has tried them. They are irresistibly moreish, and very easy to make. This batch will make about 24.

You'll need:

- 2 cups whole wheat plain flour (white will do if you haven't got whole wheat)

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- 1/4 cup caster sugar

- 2 teaspoons baking soda

- 1 tablespoon ground dried ginger

- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

- 1 teaspoon flax meal (linseed meal is the same thing)

- 1/4 cup water

- 1/2 cup canola oil  

- 1/4 cup molasses or treacle (either will do)

- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

- 2 tablespoons raw sugar for dusting (white or caster sugar will do if you don't have raw)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line two baking trays with baking paper.

First, mix together the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flax/linseed meal and water together until frothy.

Combine the rest of the wet ingredients with the water/flax mix, and then add all wet to dry and combine.

Use a teaspoon to scoop generous spoonfuls of mixture out and roll between your hands until you have spheres about 1 inch in diameter. Place on the baking tray, and if you want your biscuits flat and snappy, press them down a little. If you want them delightfully chewy (like I do) don't squash them at all (as in the picture). Sprinkle the tops with your raw or caster sugar.

Cook for between 15 and 20 minutes (depending on how chewy/snappy you want them) and let them cool a little before gobbling them all up (I promise you won't be able to stop at one).

:)