Cutting-edge cookies from a quaint shop (Grasmere Gingerbread)

Member Name: LadyAudley

Product:	Grasmere Gingerbread
Date:	26/10/09 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious!

Disadvantages: Expensive

This is, quite simply, the best gingerbread in the world.

Buying it is itself an experience that's worth having, not least because it involves a trip to the beautiful Lakeland village of Grasmere. My advice to find the store is simply to follow your nose. You'll smell a wonderful, biscuitey aroma long before you ever clap eyes on Sarah Nelson's olde worlde shop. Then, you'll see crowds of devotees making their way towards what looks like a small, white church. Finally, you'll enter a small, warm, dark room, where you are greated by assistants in (slightly twee) traditional costume.

It's here that you can taste the gingerbread itself. This is not the rock-hard gingerbread you buy in the local bakers. It's a layer of gorgeously treacly biscuit, topped with some hot and spicy crumbs. (You can actually buy the crumbs separately to use as a cheesecake base, or on icecream). The recipe itself is a secret, and despite repeated experiments, I've been completely unable to recreate the effect at home (any tips?).

The biscuits come in a simple greaseproof wrapper. They are then divided into slightly crumbly layers. Bite into a piece and you get a mouthful of gorgeous, dark sugar and treacle, followed by a powerful (but not overstrong) kick of ginger. It's a bit like eating a very compressed ginger crumble, and every bite is thoroughly, unmistakeably delicious.

One downside is the price: at over two quid for a packet of six biscuits, it is very definitely not cheap. Those unable to get to the shop can mail order the gingerbread online, but post and packaging is a prohibitive six quid. What's more, unless you have a huge family, a bulk order isn't really possible because the gingerbread is best eaten really fresh - i.e. within a couple of days of purchase. After this, it loses its texture and requires warming through in the oven to be edible.

To conclude, this is a lovely gift to take home after a Lakeland holiday, but the price of P&P on the mail order makes it more or less impossible for those of us who don't live locally to sample these biscuits regularly.

Summary: A fantastic gift, but not for everyday eating.