Thursday, April 25, 2013

Traditional ANZAC biscuits

Today is ANZAC Day here in New Zealand, a day where we remember all New Zealanders and Australians killed in war and also honour returned servicemen and women. The date itself marks the anniversary of the landing of New Zealand and Australian soldiers – the Anzacs – on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915.

We even have a special biscuit for this occasion- what Americans would call a cookie. 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. They are also very yummy!

My son and I baked these together this morning, hence the messy bench in the pictures.

To make the biscuits, you will need:

  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup coconut
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 125 grams butter
  • 2 tablespoons golden syrup
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • Preheat oven to 160 degrees C (320 degrees F). Line trays with baking paper.

    Sift flour into a large bowl.

    Stir in oats, coconut and brown sugar.

    Melt butter, golden syrup and water over medium heat.

    Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. (This step always gets my preschooler excited as the ingredients froth up and it can become a great science lesson!)
     
     
    Combine butter mixture with flour mixture.

    Roll mixture into balls and place on the trays. Flatten slightly.

    Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

    Set aside to cool then enjoy.
     


    These biscuits will keep well in an airtight container, and are great with a cup of tea.

    Linking up with Real Family Fun!

    3 comments :

    1. Those look delicious! And what a cute little helper you have! Hope you're having a great week, Lauren!

      ~Abby =)

      ReplyDelete
    2. This is so neat to see! We homeschool and recently we had a day we were learning about Australia. We learned about these biscuits and were wondering if people still ate them or if they were really used. Very neat to know the truth. What we learned said that ANZAC stood for Australia New Zealand Army Corps...do you know if that is accurate?
      Thanks so much for linking up at the Real Family Fun link party! Hope to see you next week.
      KC

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. That is what ANZAC stands for, glad to see some people are still taking an interest in history! Most people in new Zealand still eat the biscuits, I know of a few other people who have ade them this week too.

        Delete

    I love getting comments!

    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...