It’s still raining here in Goa, and it has been a slow-paced day so far. Add to it a gentle rain and a little slothfulness quickly turns full blown. Yet I thought, no time like now to bake a few ANZAC biscuits. Not overly-sweet, Anzacs are made from oats, coconut, and flour combined together in a butter-kissed dough. The end result is a hearty, sturdy cookie, with little fuss – easy to make, almost impossible to get wrong.
These biscuits have a history too. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and these biscuits are part of New Zealand baking tradition. The accepted story is that these cookies (biscuits) were made by the Troops in the trenches with provisions they had at hand to relieve the boredom of their battle rations, some say that these were made by the Kiwi women who sent them over to the troops in WWI because they were economic to make and kept well. Yet lore says that they originated from the Scottish Oatmeal Cakes. Whatever the origin, these cookies continue to be loved and relished by many. I am definitely a fan.
You can experiment by adding spices or orange or lemon zests. Have fun!
1 cup flour (all-purpose or whole wheat pastry)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup finely shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup butter, cut into little cubes
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon boiling water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 325F degrees.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl- flour, oats, coconut and both the sugars.
Melt the butter, sugar, and golden syrup together gently in a pan over a low heat. Once it has formed a delicious caramelly puddle, stir in the dry ingredients.
In a small bowl dissolve the baking soda in a little hot water. Mix it well and quickly. Add to the above dough. Combine well. I used my hands as it seemed the easiest way.
Make small balls, flatten carefully and drop by the tablespoonful onto parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake for 12 minutes, or until deeply golden.
Note: If you like your cookies crispy,make the balls flatter.
SouthIndianHome
/ March 22, 2011Nice recipe. Was searching for this recipe for the past couple of weeks.Will definitely try this today itself