The 25th of April is a very special day for all Australians and New Zealanders, it marks the first time the ANZACS (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) fought in battle during the First World War. Every year the nation stops to remember the sacrifices young service men and women have made throughout our nation’s history. We commemorate it through dawn services, minute silences, bugle song, and baking ANZAC biscuits.
The origin of ANZAC bisuits is a beautiful story. When husbands, sons and uncles went across the sea to war, the dear ladies left behind were worried about the nutritional content of the food their men were eating. They decided to make a food that they could send to their men. It had to be high in nutrition and energy, but keep for a very long time while it was transported on boats. During the war there was also a dreadful shortage of eggs, hence the reason no eggs appear in the recipe.
This is my first time making ANZAC biscuits. It’s one of the only foods we were taught about in primary school, mainly because of their history. My mum also used to make them a lot when she was breastfeeding me, for the extra energy. So, here I was, thinking it was my birth right to be able to create the perfect ANZAC biscuit. One that would spread thinly on the biscuit tray while cooking, would be crispy on the edges and slightly chewy in the middle. But, alas, my biscuits are a little too tall – still quite tasty. This could possibly be because the thermostat on my oven is awfully too hot!
So, these are a work in progress. I’ll be trying a few other recipe versions, but I still wanted to share this recipe tradition with you today. Making these today; stirring the butter, rolling them in my hand, smelling them cooking in the oven; gave me a feeling of belonging to the generations that had come before me. I am very lucky to have never had my husband or father go off to war, but most of my family, and most of every generation before us, have had to endure the heartache of war. It is important that once a year we stop and remember them.
Ingredients
100g Butter
1 1/2 tbsp golden syrup (or treacle)
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup coconut
3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tbsp boiling water
Method
Melt butter and syrup together in a large saucepan. Cool. Mix sugar, coconut, rolled oats and flour together. Stir into saucepan. Dissolve soda in water and mix in . Place rounded teaspoonsful on a greased oven tray. Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 15 minutes or until golden.
Makes about 25 – 35 biscuits
The way I’ve always done it is to add the soda to the melted butter and syrup, just before pouring the whole lot into the dry ingredients. Wonder if that makes a difference to the way the biscuits spread? Maybe not, but it looks very cool as it foams up! Like when you make honeycomb, if you’ve done that.
My mum tried these biscuits and said they reminded her of the ones my Grandma used to make. Apparently ANZAC biscuits used to be made like a slice. The mixture was pressed down into a shallow tray and baked, then when still hot was cut into fingers. This makes a lot of sense because when they sent them over to the troops they were packed in old Billy Tea rectangular tins. Having them as squares there would be less wasted space in the tin.
s
You stole my idea! Lovely photography though. I am CRAAAAZY about chewy ones!
Oh, also – these tasted way better the day after they were made!
Like a good stew.
OM NOM NOM NOM NOM.
I love these. I make a batch every year, eat some from Nan ever year, and just… *drool*. Although mine tend to turn out like ANZAC slabs, sticky and tacky and still utterly delicious.
If you want help finishing off the left-overs…
I have to say every recipe I have found on the internet for Anzacs and I mean “every” are really lacking in flavour.
Tiny amounts of Syrup and bicarb make for a mass produced texture and taste.
Be brave ladies add extra syrup, you might actually find the coveted “spread on their own and get crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside” biscuits I see everyone talking about.
Hi Woohzal!
Yes, I think I might just do that – when I was mixing the batter it was SO dry – it wasn’t even mixing together. I rang my mum for advice and she suggested to put an extra little slurp of syrup in. I think next time i’ll add another 50% more. They was just not enough moisture in the mix. Also, i’ll use chopped oats next time so they go through the mix a little easier – instead of sticking out like they did!
s