Anzac Biscuits – Lest We Forget The Recipe!

I have always admired fine domestic skills in a woman. Perhaps it is outdated but I think a woman who can whip up the perfect sponge cake while caring for her newborn twins & still managing to maintain a perfect head of pin curls is frankly a superwoman. I admired my grandmothers, their work ethic & their resourcefulness. Nothing was ever wasted & there was no problem that could not be solved.

During  WW1 the wives & mothers of Australian soldiers were concerned about the nutritional value of the rations supplied to their fellas (I know if Mr Bake & Bloom doesn’t take a home packed lunch to work I worry myself sick.) Any food they sent had to be carried in the slow old ships of the merchant navy & needed to remain fresh for in excess of 2 months! Also because of the war most of the poultry farmers had joined the service so eggs were scarce.

A body of Australian women came up with the answer in these delicious things originally called soldier biscuits that were later – after the landing of Galipoli renamed A.N.Z.A.C (Australian & New Zealand Army Corps) biscuits. They were stored used tins to keep their crispness & sent on a long voyage to their brave men.

The perfect Anzac biscuit to me is crisp on the outside, chewy in the middle & has the nutty taste of browned butter & golden syrup. They still keep well when kept in a tin & I simply adore giving them as gifts any time of year.

Anzac Biscuits:

Ingredients:

• 130g unsalted butter
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 90g shredded coconut
• 1 c plain flour
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 20ml boiling water
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 160c
2. In a small saucepan (I find it helps to use a white enamel milk pan so you can see the colour of the butter) over low heat melt the butter, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking until the butter begins to turn brown. Take off the heat & stir in the golden syrup.
3. Mix the baking soda into the boiling water & then whisk into the butter mixture
4. In a large mixing bowl combine all the remaining dry ingredients & whisk to remove lumps
5. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients & pour in the butter mixture & mix to combine into a thick dough
6. Roll into balls roughly the side of a walnut using your hands & arrange on 2 baking sheets.
7. Squash the biscuits with the prongs of a fork & bake for 16-19 minutes until golden

And now..just because I am rarely feeling so sentimental (it must be all the sugar) a poem

A sonnet for Anzac Day by Alf Wood

Sound the Last Post again, lest we forget
the freedom that we cherish has been bought -
not found like mushrooms in the field; the debt
is ours to pay, mindful of those who fought
and fell – yet still they held the torch aloft!
May we remain as zealous to withstand
the traitors who would make our fibres soft,
as well as enemies beyond the land.

The trumpet has the power to move us still,
and though the debris of a flood of years
lies over hand and mind, an aching thrill
comes rising perilously close to tears.
Sound the Last Post to hold the memory bright,
then sound the Rouse and keep the torch alight.