Ginger Cookies

One thing that always stumped new comers to Angola (or Africa for that matter) is the consistency of products. The problem is not about finding things. You can find Rogan Josh's Chutneys here if you know where to shop. Fresh norwegian salmon, no problem.

But what pissed most of us, or yours truly at least, is how you can find things one day and not for the rest of the year. There are plenty of live chickens, but I haven't been able to find chicken breast meat in any supermarkets the past 2 weeks. You have to take frozen chicken and cut into pieces when all you want is breast meat, for example. Now imagine when you need 6 chicken breast meat.

Eggs are another example. The eggs that we buy in a pack of 12 comes in varying sizes. Some puny, some tall (note: tall. Not large). They certainly aren't the best eggs for baking, especially when you need them for bronzing/ colour. Worse, I couldn't find egg in several supermarkets last week that when I saw they are sold free-style (no brand whatsoever), I bought 40 of them.

That's why going to supermarket becomes an adventure. You don't know what you will find. There is no consistency of brands (even to the most basic item such as shampoo, detergents, butter) nor there is consistency of quality. And if you're not careful, you'd be paying double for the same item sold in another supermarket. Yeap, there's no consistency of price at all. Sometimes you can even find french butter such as President or Elle & Vire cheaper than local angolan butter such as Angolana. Within the same aisle. Side by side. Won't you feel like you've just hit a jackpot? I certainly do.

Hence why I've been suspending baking. I couldn't found my usual brand for dark chocolate, and what's available is the Lindt dark chocolate of a reduced price of 6 USD per block (200gr). I have been coveting David Lebovitz's chocolate tart, but I have to put the idea aside for the time being.

Instead I make ginger biscuits. They are oh so very easy and taste extremely good. I'm so going to make a big bunch to share, a Christmas cookie of some sort.

Original recipe is from here. I'm re-writing below in metrics.

Ginger Cookies (16 biscuits)

Ingredients:
* 170gr self raising flour
* 114 gr light brown sugar
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 57 gr melted butter
* 1 heaping tsp ginger powder
* 1.5 tsp honey (or any golden syrup)
* 1 egg, whisked

How to:
* Preheat oven to 180 C.

* Whisked the egg, melt the butter, then add all ingredients into a medium bowl. Mix well.

* Using your hand, roll in your hand the size of a small pingpong ball. Flatten. Ensure some space between each flatten cookies. The baking soda will make sure they grow in size.

* Bake for 15 mins or so. You can bake it longer, but when it cools down, it will be very crispy. We like our cookies chewy :)

Enjoy. I had 2 4 while typing this. Oh my gosh, this cookie is so so good. When they are semi-warm, it's chewy in the inside while crisp on the outside. I'm going to ruin my appetite before lunch.
And when I can found dark chocolate, maybe I'll make Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies ;)

Alors, bon journée!