Ginger and wasabi cookies with dark chocolate

A highly addictive biscuit full of warming ginger and wasabi, and studded with dark chocolate chunks. There's nothing better than snuggling up under a blanket with a couple of these, a large cup of tea and a good book...

The wasabi in these cookies doesn't appear until the very end, leaving a warm buzz as the chocolate recedes.

Makes 20 large cookies

175g room temperature butter
45g soft brown sugar
110g golden caster sugar
3 tsp wasabi paste
45ml golden syrup
85ml black treacle

310g plain flour
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 tsp ground ginger
100g dark chocolate, chopped
extra: 2 tbsp caster sugar, for sprinkling

1) Mix the butter, sugars, syrup, treacle and wasabi together into a firm paste, then sift in all the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate. Knead into a smooth paste, add the chocolate chips, and knead again for a few seconds until combined.

2) Lay out a double thick layer of clingfilm and roll the dough up into a roughly 30cm long sausage, then twist the ends to seal and refridgerate for a couple of hours, or overnight.

3) Lightly oil two baking sheets and unwrap the dough, then slice into 5mm slices, sprinkle with the extra caster sugar and place onto the sheets, leaving a gap between each to allow for spreading while cooking. Bake for 10 minutes at 400f/ 200c/ gas mark 6, or until the top has spread and crackled. Leave to cool for a couple of minutes on the tray before transferring to a wire rack.