Anzac biscuits are traditionally made and sold around Anzac day. In our family we bake them every Anzac Day. It’s the perfect way to warm up after a chilly dawn service, with the oven filling the house with warmth and good smells. I’d argue there’s not too many other biscuits that taste this perfect dunked into piping hot milo.
Returned Services Associations still fundraise from the sale of Anzac biscuits and commemorative biscuit tins like this one.
On the back of this biscuit tin is a story about the origin of the Anzac biscuit:
Anzac biscuits were made by wives and women’s associations to be shipped to soldiers during the war. This is because they contain ingredients that do not easily spoil and the biscuits last for a long time. This made them wonderfully easy to ship from New Zealand to Europe in air-tight tins.
This is a lovely tale, but it has never actually been proven! One thing we definitely know is that Anzac biscuits have always been used for fundraising. During the war they were known as rolled-oat biscuits or crispies, and later they were called soldier’s biscuits.
These biscuits and other homemade treats were sold at fundraising events to raise money for the war effort. They were typically made by wives, women’s associations and school children. Anzac biscuits were cheap to make because they used golden syrup instead of eggs which were in short supply during the war.
Now who’s hungry?
Anzac Biscuits Recipe
Anzac biscuits are super easy to make at home. The simple recipe involves melting the wet ingredients, mixing the dry ingredients, shaping the biscuits, and baking them in the oven!
And because there are no raw eggs… kids…
YOU CAN LICK THE BOWL!!
Ingredients
- ½ cup standard flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ⅔ cup finely desiccated coconut
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- 50g butter
- 1 Tbsp golden syrup
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 Tbsp boiling water
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Mix together flour, sugar, coconut and rolled oats.
- Melt butter and golden syrup in the microwave. Dissolve baking soda in the boiling water and add to butter and golden syrup. Stir butter mixture into the dry ingredients.
- Place level tablespoonfuls of mixture onto cold greased trays and flatten with a fork. These don’t spread as they bake so you can place them close together.
(4a) Darling children clean up and then get to lick the mixing bowl and spoon. - Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden. Leave on the tray for 5 minutes then place on a wire rack to cool.
This recipe was taken from the Edmonds Cookbook.
You can change up the recipe a little by drizzling melted dark or white chocolate over cooled cookies, add sultanas and almonds to the mixture or dried figs. Split the batch up and experiment with different flavour combinations.
However you like them, once they are ready to eat, grab 2 or 3 cookies with a big cup of tea or milo. Curl up and enjoy while you watch your favourite (age appropriate) WWI movie.
