Extract: Comfort Cooking, by Wendy Morgan

Whether it's the end of a hard day at work, you've got lots of hungry mouths to feed, or you're simply craving something nourishing that also fills you up, it's time to get busy in the kitchen with Wendy Morgan's no-fuss comfort food. From one-pot meals to basic breads, hearty soups, punchy preserves and delectable snacks and sweets – the recipes in Comfort Cooking will help you to quickly and easily whip up the perfect dish for a lazy day, and still have plenty of leftovers.

Enjoy this delicious recipe provided by Bateman Books to whet your appetite for the whole book!

Extracted from Comfort Cooking: Enough for leftovers and lazy days in Kiwi homes, by Wendy Morgan, published by Bateman Books, RRP $45, release date July 2025

Ginger biscuit ice cream sandwiches with salted caramel

This is a classic ginger biscuit recipe that I’ve tweaked a little bit here and there over the years to suit myself. It’s an oldy but a goody. Makes about 16 sandwiches with maybe a few biscuits left for the cookie tin.

Ginger biscuits

150g butter, softened 225g brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 egg 185g plain flour 1½ tbsp ground ginger ¼ tsp baking soda

Salted caramel

175g caster sugar cup cold water 2 tbsp honey ½ tsp vanilla essence 100ml cream 60g butter 1½ tsp flaky salt Vanilla ice cream

Preheat the oven to 180˚C fan bake.

To make the ginger biscuits, in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter, sugar and vanilla for 5 minutes. Add the egg and beat for another 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Sieve the flour, ginger and baking soda and add to the bowl, mixing on a gentle speed until all combined.

Set a bowl of cold water beside you and use wet fingertips to roll the dough into walnut-size balls. Place the balls onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving a good-sized gap between each ball. Wet your fingertips again and press the balls down to make them about 1cm thick.

Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown. Transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack.

To make the salted caramel, combine the sugar and water in a heavy-based saucepan and place over a low heat. Allow it to boil without stirring until it turns a deep golden colour. Add the honey, vanilla, cream and butter to the pan and stir to combine. Keep stirring until the caramel is smooth.

Turn off the heat and stir in the flaky salt. To assemble, place the required number of the cooled biscuits on the bench and spoon a teaspoon of caramel on each, followed by a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Top with another biscuit and gently push down on each sandwich to ensure the ice cream spreads to the edges of the biscuits. Place the sandwiches in the freezer until ready to eat.

*If I am planning to divert some of the biscuits to the cookie tin, I press them down a little more before baking so they become nice and thin and crispy.

*Microwave the ice cream for 10 seconds to make it easier to scoop.

Comfort Cooking by Wendy Morgan is available in all good bookstores now.