ANZAC Heart Biscuits - 25th April 2011

As a child I can remember spending ANZAC Day at my Nan's place each year. My Grandfather having served Australia in World War II, spent time in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. He would always march in the parade and we would watch it in person or usually on television, eagerly waiting for his division to come up. One of the things I can remember very fondly was the smell of ANZAC biscuits in the oven. Every year my Nan usually makes a batch and then tries to discredit them by saying they are too soft or too crunchy. They are always good regardless, and never warrant her criticism. Easy to make,the ingredients are usually kitchen staples, especially for those of my Nan's era.


The biscuits themselves are inextricably linked to Australian culture and heritage. Ask anyone what Australia's biscuit is and they'll tell you it's the ANZAC. Originally the biscuits were made during WWI by the wives and mothers of those at war and were packaged up and sent to them in sealed tins. The biscuits therefore serve as a reminder of  WWI, Gallipoli and the ANZAC spirit. These days the biscuits have become synonymous with ANZAC Day, and a reminder of Australian's who serve in war.


This year I decided to make a batch of the biscuits myself to take over to Nan's place, more than likely she will have made a batch too. I searched the Internet and found several recipes,the recipe is pretty standard anyway.


I decided to make my biscuits into heart shapes to symbolise the love and respect I have for my late Grandfather and those Australian's who have or are currently serving in war.


I chose Donna Hay's recipe mainly because it called for a little less sugar and slightly more golden syrup than the other recipes out there:


From Donna Hay Magazine, Autumn 2001


ANZAC Biscuits


Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons golden syrup
125g butter ( I used regular salted butter)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbls hot water


Method
Preheat oven to 160C. Mix the oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl.

Place the golden syrup and butter in a saucepan over a low heat and melt. Mix the bicarb with  the water and add to the butter mixture.

Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well. Spoon tablespoons of the mixture onto baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper and flatten to about 7cm in diameter, leaving space between each for spreading.

Mix well until well combined

Here I placed some of the mixture on to a board and using a cake smoother flattened it out to about 1/4 inch thick. I then used a heart shape cutter and cut out my biscuits. I then placed them on a non-stick baking tray and flattened them slightly before baking.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until a deep brown. Cool on baking trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 28 biscuits.

Lest we forget

I hope you get to enjoy some of these biscuits this ANZAC day. X