Anzac Biscuits

Every year I think I will honour Australia Day by making Anzac Biscuits. It’s not that I am Australian but when you are a food blogger you became very aware of other countries celebrations where food can be involved. (Who am I kidding – WHEN? Food is always involved!) Other people start blogging about various traditional food stuffs and you get very swept up in it.

But every year I fail to get around to baking them. Yesterday morning I woke up and my Instagram feed was full of Australian’s celebrating their day, enjoying the glorious sunshine and revelling in all the sport. Very similar to this morning’s Instagram feed, as they get a public holiday today too. Inspired by all that Australian Joy I found myself a recipe and got baking – luckily all the ingredients were already to hand.

I am very fond of an Anzac biscuit – one of the many advantages of so many Antipodeans flying 24 hours, to make my little rainy island their home. If you have not been blessed with the knowledge of the Anzac biscuit – let me fill you in. ANZAC stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. The biscuits were made and sent by the wives of soldiers – their ingredients: oats, flour, sugar, coconut, butter, golden syrup, bicarb & boiling water meant they do not spoil and they travel well.

Oh and they taste delicious – WIN WIN!

Anzac Biscuits
makes about 24 biscuits
recipe from Gourmet Photograhpy

115g / 4oz oats
160g / 5.6oz plain flour
225g / 8oz granulated sugar
60g / 2oz desiccated coconut
125g / 4.4oz butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp boiling water

Preheat oven to 150°c / 300°f / gas mark 2 and line two baking trays

Combine the oats, flour, sugar and coconut – put to one side.

In a medium pan, gentle melt the butter with the golden syrup.

Add boiling water to the bicarbonate of soda – pour this into the butter mixture, it’ll froth up quite a bit. It’s kinda sciencey – like Brian Cox!

Then add the butter to the dry ingredients and combine fully. I have been reliably informed by Ashley from Peach Trees and Bumblebees that the “raw stuff is just as tasty if not tastier!” but you will have to take her word for it, as I neglected to do this!

Make balls of the mixture, roughly the size of a walnut and place on the baking trays – about an inch or so apart, the biscuits will spread.

Bake for 20 minutes, until golden and let them cool on the baking tray.

As the story goes, these biscuits will last a while but if you are anything like me you’ll have scoffed the lot well before any spoiling is likely to occur!

It goes without saying that they should be eaten with a Flat White.

So Happy belated Australia Day to all my Australian readers – thank you without you, the world wouldn’t be nearly as joyous.