I love books. I also love food.
So naturally, I have sought to combine these two things. Food plays such an important role in books--it can paint a rich picture of culture, of family, or just let us know subtle things about a character depending on what their go to stress food snack is.
I'm also old enough to remember the TBS series, Dinner & a Movie, which I thought was fabulous. (My favorite episode was a screening of Ferris Bueller combined with "I can't go to school today, I falafel") And in my enlightened quarantine state, I thought, people love book reviews, baking is also totally an in thing right now. BOOM. I too could make a recipe or food item from a book.
And here we are.
So, Bellamy and I are baking Ginger Biscuits as featured in A Treason of Thorns by Laura Weymouth.
Before I get to the good stuff, let me tell you a little story. (trust me, it's good) I sat down to start reading A Treason of Thorns before bed thinking I would just read the first two chapters to get it going and then come back to it the next day...reader, all of a sudden, two hours had passed and I was on page 110, I just got sucked right in to this beautiful love triangle between Violet, Wyn, and a house. Yes. A house. A magical house. A magical house I would very much like to live in because it's AMAZING. But I digress.
Ginger biscuits were mentioned and I thought 'huh, ginger biscuits, that's an odd flavor' and kept reading. The next day, ginger biscuits came up again and I was like, 'you know what, in my bread-starved state, I would totally try a ginger biscuit. I wonder where I could find them. I'll have to look up a recipe."
And reader, I looked up the recipe and felt incredibly dumb. Because I forgot that the story was set in the English Countryside and that their biscuit is not the 'Merican biscuit.
What I was expecting:
What Ginger Biscuits really are:
*face palm* And really, I should know this. I prefer biscuit type cookies and I just...failed. I'm blaming it on the quarantine.
So I asked my dear friend Alexandra Overy (this is where I tell you to go check out her Goodreads page and add These Feathered Flames) for a genuine Ginger Biscuit recipe and she did not disappoint. (and no, I'm not sharing the recipe...google for one!)
Please know that I went all out for this. I had to hunt down Lyle's Golden Syrup (which was an adventure). But for you, dear reader, I found it (I had to go to a store that was two hours away from my house).
And OH MY GOODNESS are they delicious. I'm #sorrynotsorry that I'm not sharing with you. Or anyone really because I am quarantining alone, I get to keep all the cookies for myself.
So now that we're all settled with some delicious ginger biscuits, let me tell you about the wonderful and lovely book, A Treason of Thorns, by Laura Weymouth. Laura has a brilliant way of writing that is sophisticated, but inviting and paints these amazing scenes and moments in your brain as you read. Every word is deliberate and adds to this aesthetic--the level of care and craft she puts into her books draws the reader in and whisks you away on fantastical adventures. The story's protagonist is in a vicious race against time to save her magical house from a power hungry king who also happened to condemn her father to death. All she has to help her is her love of Burleigh House, a very soft boi who loves her, and an unlikely ally that you're going to positively love. (Also, she has ginger biscuits, of course). Burleigh house itself serves as a lush setting and a well developed character. I'm not kidding when I say I too would love to have a house-friend like this. This book was such a pleasure to read and only added to my respect for Laura's writing (The Light Between Worlds is also AMAZING!!). So if you want a book that has a strong, smart female protagonist, a very cool magic system, some excellent pining, life-changing HARD choices that have very unexpected consequences, and discussion of how to overthrow a tyrannical government, I highly recommend picking up a copy! 14/10 Would Recommend!
And finally, because I wouldn't be me if I didn't do it. I also made Ginger Biscuits:
All I did was add in the ginger seasonings (Ginger, Cinnamon, Ground Cloves) to a regular run of the mill biscuit recipe. The results were...okay? Definitely edible, but a lot less ginger-y than I expected. The biscuitness of it overpowered the gingerness of it. If I were to make it again, I would probably play around with the sugar ratio and make them a bit sweeter. But as I said, in a bread-starved state, they were good eatin'.
If you haven't read my April Book Round Up post yet, there's still time to enter the giveaway (ends May 20th)! Details are in the blog.
Thanks for reading! Leave a comment and tell me what I should read for my next Great Baking Adventure!