Sunday 19 April 2015

Comfort Food ~ Anzac Biscuits

Are you , like me ,reaching for comfort food on a cool, windy day.


I can only imagine the comfort it brought to the diggers in the trenches.
This is a straight forward recipe and easy to follow instructions - prep is 10 mins tops.

I'm too lazy to bake much, or complicated recipes - so need all the help I can get.

Anzac biscuits have a slightly crunchy texture with oaty, golden syrup flavour. Usually ,they are crunchier on the outside the day of baking and softer the next. I imagine they were hard tack by the time they reached the 'boys'.

It has been claimed the biscuits were sent by wives to soldiers abroad because the ingredients do not spoil easily and the biscuits kept well during naval transportation.

Makes about 20-25 biscuits.

125g butter
2 tablespoons (40ml) golden syrup

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup plain flour
2/3 cup raw sugar or raw caster sugar

2 tablespoon (40ml) boiling water
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Preheat oven to 160 ° C or  (140 ° fan-forced).
Baking one tray of biscuits at a time : use the oven rack in the centre of the oven.
Bake two trays of biscuits at a time : with one oven rack in the upper half of the oven and one in the lower half of the oven.

I didn't line my baking trays with baking paper (because I've run out ...that's how I roll) - they didn't stick thankfully. I also made mini Anzac biscuits in a muffin tin because I ran out of tray space.

  1. Combine oats, coconut, flour and sugar together in a large bowl and mix dry ingredients well. 
  2. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter and golden syrup , stirring occasionally. When butter has melted, combine bicarbonate of soda and boiling water in a small bowl and stir into butter and golden syrup mixture. It foams and doubles in size.
  3. Add butter mix to dry ingredients and mix until well combined. 
  4. Place firmly packed tablespoons of the mixture about 5-6cm apart on the trays - they can also be rolled into balls. (I didn't and I forgot to flatten them till right about now)
  5. Slightly flatten the balls with a fork. Bake for about 15 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown but still soft 
  6. Longer cooking times will result in a crispier, drier biscuit.
  7. Cool biscuits on trays , or transfer to wire racks. Cooled biscuits store best in an airtight container.
  8. Serve with your favourite tea ...enjoy !



Tonight, I'm grateful - we have a ute load full of chopped wood , from a long ago fallen tree. A friend cuts it for us, in return for us letting him chop his own wood.