Little Flutters

ANZAC day is today in the States and was celebrated yesterday in Australia. Traditionally it’s a public holiday to remember the Australian and New Zealand troops that fought in World War I. There are two things you can count on in Australia this weekend. The first is a BBQ with beer, the second is a serving of ANZAC biscuits.

The bikkies were originally made so that they could survive the long sea trip over to the Australian and New Zealand troops without going stale but don’t assume they’ll be dry and tasteless because of it. Sweetened coconut and crunchy oats keep this biscuit alive and the flavour of butter tickles the tastebuds. For all the rebels out there, you could sultanas (raisins).

Gather for your soldiers:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup porridge (rolled oats) uncooked
• 1 cup desiccated coconut (if you can only find sweetend, like I could in my local D.C store, only use 3/4 cup of sugar in the mix)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 2 tbs golden syrup (ok, honey will do)
• 1 tsp bicarb soda (baking soda)
• 2 tb boiling water, straight from the kettle
• Pinch of salt

1. Grease a baking tray and preheat your oven to 180 C / 350 F.
2. Sift the flour into a medium bowl, add the porridge, coconut and sugar and mix well with a wooden spoon.
3. Melt the butter and honey in a small saucepan over low hear.
4. Mix the bicarb soda with the hot water. Watch it fizzle. Add to the butter and honey. The quicker you mix, the more bubbles you’ll see, which is always cool.
5. Pour the warm liquid into the dry ingredients and mix until everything is combined. Don’t stress if it looks really dry and isn’t forming a dough. Add sultanas or anything else you want in there.
6. Using your hands, make little compact balls with the dough, about the size of a tablespoon and press them onto the tray, leaving 4 cm gaps between the biscuits.
7. Bake on the top shelf of your oven for 10 minutes. Check at 8 minutes, your oven might be hotter or cooler and I don’t want it to burn.
8. When they’re slightly brown, take them out of the oven and carefully transfer onto a wire rack. They’re going to be crumbly and delicate so be gentle.
9. Store in an airtight container. Serve with a glass of milk, or if you want to be really Aussie, a cold hard beer.

Tagged ANZAC, buscuit, cookie

§ One Response to Make way for the ANZAC bikkies

• Nick says:

  May 7, 2009 at 06:26

  Hi Tash,
  I’m loving reading your blogs. Honey will not do in Anzac biscuits, by the way. Golden syrup is so much the crucial ingredient of Anzac biscuits that it should be the theme ingredient on Iron Chef.