The Secret Trader Joe’s Find That Improves Any Holiday Baked Good

What holiday flavor pairs well with everything from chocolate to warm spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, and so on) to pumpkin to fruits (banana, berry, and apple)? It’s ginger! And if you’re a fan of powdered or fresh ginger, you’re going to love crystallized ginger. 

Crystallized ginger is a total secret weapon when it comes to holiday baking. It’s made from slices of peeled fresh ginger that have been cooked until soft in a sweet syrup, then allowed to dry, and finished with a crackly sugar coating. You may also have heard of it as candied ginger. You can find it in some candy stores, or supermarkets, but this time of year it’s readily available at Trader Joe’s.

The flavor is sweet and spicy and concentrated, and the texture is chewy and pleasing. It is lovely to nibble alongside a cup of tea, or maybe to add for a unique twist on a cheese platter or grazing board, but holiday baking is its time to really shine. When chopped, it adds terrific flavor and pops of texture to all kinds of baked goods.

And honestly doesn’t gingerbread with crystallized ginger sound way more jolly than just plain gingerbread? So, how best to use candied ginger in your holiday baking? Lots of ways. 

Cookies: You can add chopped crystallized ginger to all kinds of cookies, from gingersnaps to oatmeal cookies to sugar cookies to no-bake haystacks.

Quick breads, muffins and cakes: Perfect in gingerbread cake (of course), banana bread, zucchini bread, carrot raisin bread, and so on.

Streusel toppings: Add some chopped crystallized ginger to streusel toppings for pies, muffins, coffee cakes, and crisps for yet another level of texture and flavor.

Fruit: You can stuff a cored pear, apple, or quince with some warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and maybe some dried ginger as well, plus some chopped candied ginger, brown sugar, and maybe a bit of orange zest. Bake or poach as desired.

Or include it in the filling of a fruit pie or buckle or cobbler or compote.

Ginger, molasses, pumpkin — if you want your house to smell like the holidays, this is the recipe for you.

Get the recipe: Pumpkin Gingerbread with Crystallized Ginger from The Mom 100

Chunks of crystallized ginger and chocolate give this banana bread tons of personality.

Get the recipe: Banana Bread with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger from The Mom 100

Buttery cookies with a little bit of zip.

Get the recipe: Crystallized Ginger Shortbread from The Mom 100

This gingery sweet treat is the perfect bring-along to any party or event.

Get the recipe: Pumpkin Slab Pie

Frozen tart cherries pair incredibly well with the spiced flavor of ginger in this surprisingly complex dessert.

Get the recipe: Tart Cherry Crumble