All The Nostalgia .. Brandy Snaps

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/354F. Line two baking trays with baking parchment then oil a thickish handle of a wooden spoon, cannoli tube or small rolling pin and lay it on a cooling rack.
2. Measure the plant based butter, sugar and syrup into a small, heavy-based pan.
3. Heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. This will take about 10 minutes over a low heat. Don’t let the mixture boil as it may crystallise.
4. To check when the sugar has dissolved, stir occasionally, pulling the spoon across the bottom of the pan until you can no longer feel the gritty granules being scraped along and most of them have disappeared.
5. Leave the mixture to cool slightly, about 2 or 3 minutes, then sieve in the flour and ginger. Pour in the lemon juice and stir well to mix thoroughly.



6. Drop a teaspoonful of the mixture onto each of the prepared baking tray to make neat circle, and test bake
7. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 8 minutes, or until the mixture is well spread out, looks lacey and is a dark golden colour.
8. Reduce bake temperature by 10 degrees if they are burning to quickly
9. Now start your bakes, placing Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto each of the prepared baking trays to make neat circles, about 10cm/4in apart.
10. Bake one tray at a time for 8 minutes in rotation
11. Once baked, you need to work fast to shape the brandy snaps, so its easier if you bake one tray at a time. Remove each tray from the oven and leave for a minute or so to firm up slightly, then lift from the baking parchment using a fish slice or palate knife. The mixture needs to be just firm enough to remove, but pliable enough to shape. Check by releasing around and under the edges with a small palette knife.
12.Quickly roll a circle of the warm mixture around your greased implement of choice , having the join underneath.
12. Press the join lightly together to seal, then slide the brandy snap off the implement and leave it to firm up on the wire rack, again with the join underneath.
13. If any of the circles on the sheet harden too much to work with, put them back in the oven for a few seconds to soften again.
14. Repeat until all the mixture has been used. If the mixture in the pan becomes too firm to drop in neat spoonfuls, roll a teaspoonful of it into a small smooth ball in your hands, sit it on the baking tray and flatten slightly with your fingers.





15. When cold, store the brandy snaps in an airtight tin or container; they will keep for at least a week.
16. Fill as required and eat immediately
17. Enjoy