Hibiscus Spiraled Ginger Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Pulse the hibiscus flowers 8 to 10 times in a spice grinder until coarsely ground but not powdery. Whisk 1 tablespoon of the ground hibiscus, the flour, ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
• Grate the fresh ginger on the large holes of a box grater. Squeeze out the juice with your hands into a small bowl; discard the solids.
• Beat the butter and 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, lime zest and 1 tablespoon of the ginger juice. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the flour mixture in two batches until combined.
• Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Arrange about 1 inch apart on 2 unlined baking sheets. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are light golden on the bottom, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool 2 minutes on the pans, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the glaze: Whisk the remaining 1 cup confectioners? sugar, 1 teaspoon ginger juice, the lime juice, water and 2 pinches of salt in a medium bowl. Dip the top of each cookie in the glaze to cover evenly; let any excess drip off. Sprinkle with the remaining ground hibiscus. Let set, about 5 minutes.

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 5 minutes. Add 1 egg and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, candied ginger, salt and ground ginger, and whisk together. Turn the mixer off, add flour mix to the butter all at once and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer speed to low and beat until flour is fully incorporated, scraping the bowl again if needed, about 30 seconds. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, pressing down to form a flat square. Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine the turbinado sugar, hibiscus, edible flowers (if using) and orange zest.
• Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper into a 10-by-13-inch rectangle. Peel off the top sheet of parchment paper. Beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl, and brush the surface of the dough with the egg mixture. Sprinkle the hibiscus mixture over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border along one of the long edges. Press down lightly on the sugar to make sure it adheres to the dough. Turn the dough so that the coated long end is closest to you and, starting from that end, roll the dough into a tight log. Use the bottom sheet of parchment to help lift and roll the dough. Slice the log in equal halves, and wrap each half with 1 sheet of parchment. Refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to slice, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Slice each log into ½-inch rounds. Lay the rounds on the prepared baking sheet, spacing at least ½-inch apart.
• Bake until the cookies are golden at the bottom edges, rotating once halfway through baking, about 22 minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The baked cookies can also be stored frozen in an airtight container for up to 10 days. Thaw at room temperature before serving.

Steps:

• Combine sugar, cloves, ginger, and 4 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high, stirring until sugar is dissolved (if it begins to boil, reduce heat -- boiling will make the syrup cloudy). Remove from heat; let steep 10 minutes. Stir in hibiscus leaves; let steep another 35 minutes.
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large liquid-measuring cup; discard solids. Refrigerate until completely cool, 1 hour. Pour into gift bottles. Syrup can be stored in bottles, refrigerated, up to 1 month.