Sunday, September 18, 2011

More hooch: Gingersnap Liqueur, never before seen!

A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand. – Anonymous

Mmmm... Cookie-ness...
After my foray into the world of Baklava liqueur I started wondering what else I could translate from baking to booze…

Steep for two weeks.
I have several other ideas that will probably see the light of day, but this recipe is the one I wanted to do first. You see, homemade gingersnap cookies are pretty much my favourite homemade treat. They rank right up there beside Dot Bolivar’s Tollhouse Cookies (search “Dot Bolivar” for the post).

What if you could instil the essence of a gingersnap cookie into a liqueur? Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? Well it wasn’t really, and I have pulled it off!

This liqueur tastes so much like the cookie it’s amazing. As you can see by the pictures, I only filled the bottles up halfway. No, it isn’t because I am cheap. There’s a method to my madness.

At Christmas I will tie a note to the top of each bottle with instructions to fill the rest of the bottle with coffee or cereal cream and shake. I can’t do it beforehand because the shelf life of refrigerated homemade cream liqueurs is not much more than a week.

Of course, they can opt to not add the cream. I can see this liqueur being stunning in a gingersnap martini, or perhaps as a mixed drink booster with club soda. I would avoid using fruit juice with this like the plague.

This liqueur is my own creation. You won’t find this recipe posted anywhere else, at least not yet anyway… I hope that you try it. It’s really one of the best liqueurs I’ve ever made.


Gingersnap Liqueur
Time: 2 weeks
Snazzy labels suitable for liqueur bottles. Download a printable
file for free here. They say "Sam & Ella's Cookin' School."
1/2 cup fancy molasses
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup water
2” cinnamon stick
4” fresh ginger, sliced (no need to peel it)
6 whole allspice berries
2 cups grappa or vodka
1 L Mason jar

Combine all the ingredients except for the vodka in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and keep at that heat for 5 minutes.

Let the mixture cool and then add it, with the vodka to a Mason jar.

Seal the infusion and let steep for 2 weeks, shaking occasionally.

After the 2 weeks, strain through a fine sieve and bottle. Makes 4 375 ml bottles, filled half-way.

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7 comments:

  1. Hi! I just found your blog and am in love! Totally trying the baklava liquor. Right now I'm working on a lavender liquor. How about a chocolate praline liquor with pecans, brown sugar and chocolate to add to your baking-inspired collection of alcohol?!

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  2. I've tried chocolate before and it didn't turn out very well and I don't want to resort to chocolate essence... The purist in me. I'm still looking for a good base recipe. Once I do I'll look into praline! Sounds like a grand idea. Thank you!

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  3. Hey. looks good, but if one wanted to make a long lasting version could you top up the rest with water do you think?
    thanks.

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  4. Hi, to make "full" bottles you should make a simple syrup of 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water. Boil for 5 minutes and mix in just before bottling.

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    Replies
    1. Alright, thank you very much that helps a lot.

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  5. Hey! this sounds amazing, do you think it would work with brandy as the base?

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    Replies
    1. Sure. It will be sweeter I would imagine, because brandy is "sweeter". Let me know how it goes!

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