Recipe: Brandy snaps / Ginger snaps

Brandy snaps rolled into tubes or cones and filled with a delicious cream are a real treat, but often people feel like they've crossed a line after having one.  I like to use the recipe to make tasty garnishes.  As little wafers, they have such a perfect crispness to them with a zest of lemon and just the right hint of brandy.  They are also known as ginger snaps, but I found I liked them better without the ginger and letting the brandy and lemon do the talking.  Of course you can still make the traditional filled brandy snap confections, just use a larger amount of the base mixture than you would for the wafers (think two or three grapes instead of one) and be ready to roll fast before they crisp up out of the oven.

A couple tricks help this recipe come together well.  Before adding the flour, make sure to let the mixture cool down so it re-emulsifies when you stir it, but don't try to rush it by putting it in the fridge - the butter in the mixture next to the sides of the bowl will harden too fast and resist mixing.  If you must, put the mix in a bit of water without ice and gently stir it on the counter top until it thickens up.  When cooking, don't use the fan if you have a convection oven, and keep the temperature low so the snaps colour evenly and really evaporate out any moisture.

You will need:

125g / 4.4oz           unsalted butter

125ml / 1/2C          sugar

125g / 4.4oz           corn syrup

15ml / 1Tbs            lemon juice

15ml / 1Tbs            brandy

250ml / 1C             flour

5ml / 1tsp               ginger (optional)

 - put the butter, sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice and brandy in a small sauce pan and melt together

 - let the mixture cool naturally at room temperature (or gently cool over a bowl of water)

 - sift the flour and ginger together

 - once the sugar mixture is thick again, transfer to a mixture with a paddle or use a wooden spoon to mix in the ginger and flour

 - at this point you can bake the snaps or store the mix in the fridge till later

 - preheat the oven to 325F / 163C

 - for garnish wafers, take grape-sized lumps and space them out on a cookie sheet lined with paper or silicone

 - for the larger dessert snaps, double (or triple) the size of the lumps and leave lots of space for them to spread out

 - bake for 5 minutes, check the colour, rotate and repeat until you have a nice and even golden brown

 - remove from oven

 - if shaping, let cool slightly (or wear latex gloves) and quickly form around your molds

 - if making wafers, just let cool  completely on the tray and they will come out nice and flat

 - store in an airtight container at room temperature until use