Mulled Wine & Candied Ginger Cookies

For anyone who has grown up with mulled wine at Christmas, there isn’t anything quite like the rich, spicy smell of a steaming mug to accompany dessert, a movie or a meal.

Making mulled wine is simple! You’ll need:

1 bottle of red wine
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
Mulled wine spice
Optional: oranges, lemons or vanilla

Start by adding 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar to a 1 litre saucepan. Pour just enough red wine over the sugar to cover it, and let it simmer while stirring in the sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved, add a generous tea bag or tea strainer full of Mulled Wine Spice. Now, pour in the rest of the bottle of wine and bring just below a boil. Finally, add in a splash of orange juice, or juice a lemon or orange. If you like vanilla you can add vanilla extract now. Remove the mulled wine spice before serving.

Candied Ginger Cookies: Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups chopped candied ginger
Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies

Instructions:

First, preheat the oven to 175° C. Add the dry ingredients (flour and spices) to a large mixing bowl and stir.

In a separate bowl, beat the brown sugar, maple syrup and oil together using an electric mixer. Beat for 5 minutes on medium speed. Next add the egg and beat at low speed for 1 minute.

Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. Scraping the bowl ensures that all your good spices get mixed in evenly. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in the candied ginger pieces and mix to combine. Refrigerate the dough for a few hours so it is firm and easy to handle.

Use two spoons to scoop the dough out of the bowl and roll each dough ball between your palms. When you have a ball, roll it in granulated sugar and place them on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper.

Bake 13 minutes. The sugar gives the cookies a wonderfully crunchy exterior, and a soft interior. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire cookie racks to cool.