Australia - ANZAC biscuits

I am a huge fan of MasterChef Australia - it was the first competition tv show that I ever enjoyed watching, the judged were nice and supportive, the competitors all seemed lovely - and although it created a pressurised environment it still felt enjoyable. My favourite part though was that pantry! oh the jealousy - and all the wonderful ingredients that the competitors cooked with. When it came to cooking for Australia week I was thinking maybe barramundi, or John Dory fish... but of course getting that here specially doing lock down is a no go - so I kept looking and I was surprised by the amount of sweet stuff that came up, lamingtons, pavlova, fairy bread, and a few savoury items like lamb, bbq and meat pies also caught my eye - but I decided to settle on ANZAC biscuits.

The ANZAC biscuits have their origin around the time of WWI where it is said that women baked these biscuits for the men who were going to war and the biscuits have long been associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). They are often baked on ANZAC day, which is a national day of remembrance held on the 25th of April. It seemed fitting to cook these this week as we also remembered our men fallen in war on the 75th anniversary of VE-Day.

The biscuits are buttery goodness, they have butter, rolled oats, golden syrup sugar and some coconut - which makes them wonderfully crunchy and slightly chewy. There are a few variations of the recipe which mainly vary on the amount of coconut and whether to use soft brown sugar or caster sugar - which will give either a crunchy or a chewy texture. I chose Donna Hay's recipe which promises biscuits with a chewy middle and crunchy outside - and boy did they deliver! The only slight change I made to the ingredients was to add a little more coconut as other recipes suggested and a tsp of salt as I'm a huge fan of all things sweet and salty! I also added a couple of steps to the instructions which I got from the comments as other bakers had adjusted things to their experience!

Makes 30-35

Ingredients

• 180g Rolled Oats

• 150g plain flour

• 150g caster sugar

• 80g desiccated unsweetened coconut

• 115g golden syrup

• 125g unsalted butter

• 1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate)

• 2tbsp hot water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl add the oats, flour, sugar and coconut. Place the oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl and mix to combine. 

3. Put a small saucepan or frying pan on the stove over medium heat. Add the butter and golden syrup. Stir gently until the butter has melted.

4. In a small cup mix the baking soda and the water. Once the butter is melted add the water mix to the butter and stir. The mixture will froth up a bit like the photo below.

5. Pour the frothy mixture over the oat mixture and stir until it's all mixed in.

6. Take about a tablespoon of mixture and roll it into a little ball. Place on the baking tray and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon. Add about 8 to each tray - they will expand considerably, so leave plenty of space between them.

7. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until deep golden. Allow to cool on baking trays for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

8. Try not to eat them all at once!