I’ve never borrowed a cookbook by Australian food stylist Donna Hay before. I’ve admired them in book stores and at the library of course but for some reason never picked one up. That is until I spied the latest one, Modern Baking : cakes, cookies and everything in between, on the new book display at the Main Library.

Hay became a food stylist when she was still in her teens. A handful of years later and she was appointed the food editor of marie claire magazine. She launched her own magazine in 2001, a housewares line in 2009 and a TV series in 2011. Besides these accomplishments, she has written 26 cookbooks with over 6 million copies sold. WPL has just two at the moment, Modern Baking and Basics to Brilliance Kids : a healthy book for big and little cooks.

Modern Baking is a hefty 400 page tome. It contains over 250 recipes with chapters divided by ingredient e.g. chocolate, fruit & berries, milk & cream etc. Many pages had very dark backgrounds and the text in white which was a little difficult to read. I persevered as the recipes sounded wonderful and the photos were just beautiful.

I saw many (many!) recipes I’d love to try but the Ginger Molasses Cookies from the “Sugar & Spice” section won out. Now. Confession time. I did take a few liberties with Hay’s recipe. I’m not a fan of peel or crystalized ginger so chose to omit that. I also used pureed ginger (store bought; not done by my own fair hand) instead of grated fresh.

As I read through the directions, they seemed unduly complicated for cookies so went with my seasoned baker’s instincts and used a more basic methodology which is included below. If you prefer lengthy instructions just borrow Modern Baking from the library and you’ll get details and then some.

The Ginger Molasses Cookies were absolutely scrumptious! Buttery, with a nice crunch and lovely ginger flavour. Not overpowering at all. Two thumbs up from my household! And actually, they tasted even nicer the next day.

So, will Donna Hay’s “Modern Baking” make it into my own personal collection of cookbooks? Perhaps. I will definitely borrow it again from the library and a try out a few more recipes (the peanut butter fudge sounded awesome)  but on the strength of the Ginger Molasses Cookies, I’d say the odds are good.

• Sandi H.

Ginger Molasses Cookies

1 c butter, softened
1 c light brown sugar
¾ c white (granulated) sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
2 tblsp molasses
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp water
2 c all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
½ c crystallised ginger, chopped (optional)
½ c Demerara sugar

In large bowl beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium until well blended. Beat in egg, yolk and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes or until creamy.

In little dish stir together powder, soda and water. Add to batter along with the fresh ginger and molasses. Stir to combine. Add in flour, salt and ground ginger. Blend in gently.

Cover mixing bowl and chill the dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease cookie sheets and set aside.

Roll dough into 1” balls, roll in Demerara and bake for 15 minutes. Leave room on cookie sheets as they will flatten and spread. Let cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to cooling racks to cool completely. Enjoy!

NOTE: it says that this recipe makes 15 cookies but I ended up with almost double that amount in what I’d say were medium-sized biscuits.