Recipe: Skibo Castle Ginger Crunch (Ireland)

Skibo Castle Ginger Crunch (Ireland)
Source: Doon Fergusson-Howlett
Yield: About 5 dozen

Shortbread Base
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Topping
3/8 cup (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 Tbsp Lyle's Golden Syrup (British cane sugar syrup)
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 13-by 9-inch metal baking pan.

Make shortbread base:
Sift together dry ingredients and blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press evenly into bottom of pan (base will be thin). Bake in middle of oven until golden and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.

Make topping just before shortbread is done:
Melt butter in a small saucepan and whisk in remaining ingredients until smooth. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring, 30 seconds.

Pour topping:
Remove shortbread from oven and pour topping over, tilting pan to cover shortbread evenly. Cool in pan on a rack, then cut into small rectangles (8 rows lengthwise and 8 crosswise).