ANZAC Biscuits - A Tradition and a Treat
Many moons ago this Queen had a back pack and a sense of adventure and headed off to explore the wide blue yonder. Along the way I discovered so many things and created some incredible memories. In hindsight, one of the biggest things I found was my love of food. At the time I am not sure I was really aware of it, but looking back, the food is often front and centre when I remember the places I went and the things that I saw. It's amazing how food can conjur up memories that are so vivid and real and can take you right back to a moment in time.
I was very fortunate, during my backpacking days, to experience ANZAC Day at Gallipoli in Turkey. It was everything you imagined it to be; rugged, beautiful, foreboding and somehow quite spiritual. It gave me a sense of history, of what had come before me and also helped me to imagine what it could have been like, to be at war as a young person, so far away from home and so far outside of your comfort zone.
One of the stories that really stuck with me from my time there, was the comradery that developed between the Turkish and Australian soldiers after the initial invasion on the 25th April 1915. As the warfare settled in on the Gallipoli Peninsula, soldiers found themselves in trenches so close to their enemies that they could throw canned food, like corned beef, to each other. Apart from the canned "bully beef" the soldiers also survived on "tack" biscuits which were hard as rocks and made from flour, sugar, salt and water. They could only be eaten if dunked in tea to soften them.
Somehow it seems that the legend of the ANZAC biscuit may have become caught up with the idea of the "tack" biscuit and it is sometimes thought that ANZAC bickies were eaten by our diggers. In fact, it is said that the ANZAC biscuits we eat today were actually made by the women back in Australia and sold to raise money for the war effort.
Regardless, this biscuit is so steeped in our tradition and history that it deserves to be celebrated and enjoyed. Perhaps the crunchier, flatter versions are a nod to the "tack" biscuit and the higher more cookie style versions are more like those that were baked and sold back here. My recipe is more a crunchy/chewy combo that is slightly flatter, but I have made a note on an adaption for those who like it more "cookie" ish.
I hope you find some time to bake a batch today and think a little about how lucky we are to live with freedom and opportunity.
ANZAC Biscuits (makes 20)
1 cup (150g) plain flour
2 cups (180g) rolled oats
3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar
3/4 cup (60g) dessicated coconut
4 tbs golden syrup
125g butter
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
2 tbs hot water
Chop the butter into rough cubes and place into a jug or small bowl with the golden syrup and water. Select Steam at 100°C (0r 100%) and allow to melt for around 4 minutes.
Line two large baking trays with baking paper. Combine the flour, with oats, sugar and coconut in a mixing bowl.
Remove the melted butter mixture and stir in the bi-carb. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until very well combined. Select Hot Air (or your Fan Forced setting) and set to 160°C.
Place 2 tbs (or around 40g) of the mixture onto the tray and flatten to around 1cm thick. Continue with all the mixture to make around 20 cookies.
Bake for around 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool on the trays for 10 minutes before placing onto a rack to cool completely.
Notes: for a "higher" more "cookie like" version use 1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour, 1 1/2 cups (135g) rolled oats and 1 tsp bi-carb keeping the rest of the ingredients and method the same as above.
Happy Combi Steaming!
Yours in the kitchen,
The CSQ x