Anzac Biscuits (Two Ways)

Today is Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand which marks the anniversary of both countries’ first major military action during World War I.  The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landed at Gallipoli on this day in 1915 and suffered major casualties through to the end of that year when the allied forces were evacuated from Gallipoli.

April 25 has become a day not only to commemorate those who lost their lives during WWI, but for all who have served and died in subsequent wars, conflicts as well as peacekeeping operations.  Services are held at dawn, being the time of the original landing, as well as marches later in the day where ex-servicemen and women take part.

I remember participating in these marches with my Pop when I was at primary school and despite having parents, grandparents, uncles, cousins and other relatives who have served in the military, I must admit I don’t think I really appreciated what Anzac Day meant until I was older.

One baked good that makes an appearance at this time is the Anzac Biscuit which is an eggless sweet biscuit which may or may not contain coconut.  Although you will come up with a gazillion hits when you search the interweb for a recipe, I used the two recipes found on the Australian War Memorial website.

Anzac Biscuits without Coconut

The first recipe on the website is one without coconut first published in The Capricornian (Rockhampton, Queensland) on 14th August 1926.  When I have made Anzac Biscuits previously I have always used a recipe with coconut but I thought I would give this one a try as the ingredients are the same, albeit slightly different quantities.

You will need rolled oats, sugar (you will have to imagine it in the picture below as it was hiding out of shot), plain flour, melted butter, golden syrup, boiling water and bicarb soda.

Place all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, mix together the golden syrup, boiling water and bicarb soda then add this to the melted butter and stir.

Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until everything is thoroughly combined.  I found the mixture was really quite dry so added a little bit more water until it came together.

Take tablespoon size balls of the mixture, I used my smallest ice cream scoop, and place on a lined baking tray.  Bake in a preheated 180ºC (160ºC fan forced) oven for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden and cooked through.

I found this particular recipe did not spread as much and I didn’t flatten the balls of dough at all so they ended up being quite puffy once baked.

Given I am used to the much sweeter version with the coconut, I did find these ones were a little on the bland side in comparison.

Anzac Biscuits with Coconut

This recipe is more like all of the others that you will find in a web search, the quantities may just vary from source to source, and comes from the Country Women’s Association of NSW Calendar of Cake and Afternoon Tea Delicacies: a recipe for each day of the year published in 1933.

As before you will need rolled oats, sugar, golden syrup, flour, melted butter, boiling water, bicarb soda and of course the extra ingredient of desiccated coconut.

The method is as before where you start off by placing all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Stir the golden syrup, boiling water and bicarb soda together and then add to the melted butter.

Add this to the dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.  Again, I found this one to be a little dry still so just added some more water until I was happy with the consistency.

The mixture ended up being a little more sticky than the first version (a little too much water perhaps), but I used the same sized ice cream scoop and placed the balls of dough on a lined tray and baked in the preheated 180ºC (160ºC fan forced) oven for a few minutes longer than the first version, about 15-18 minutes overall.

As I had two trays of Anzac Biscuits, I slightly flattened the balls on one tray and left the others as is.  It didn’t really make any difference as these ones actually spread into the more familiar shape we are used to seeing for these biscuits.

I certainly did prefer these ones over the first batch because of that familiar taste, and that little bit extra sweetness certainly helps.

The Recipes

Although essentially the same ingredients, bar one, these certainly did end up being completely different Anzac Biscuits.  You will find both recipes below and I will leave it up to you which you prefer.