ANZAC Day

That teapot is crying out for a tea-cossie!

Yesterday was Anzac Day, the day we remember the sacrifices made by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp in war so it seemed a good time to make a batch of Anzac biscuits and explain the meaning of the day to the kids. My version differs slightly from the traditional biscuits made by mothers, wifes and sweethearts and shipped to the boys on the frontlines during World War I. I have replaced the plain flour and bicarbonate of soda with self-raising flour as I'm not a real fan of that weird aftertaste bicarb sometimes leaves and I have also reduced the amount of sugar other than that the recipe remains the same.

Anzacs biscuits were the first thing I really mastered in the kitchen when I was little and I used to love making them as much as I loved eating them. We made a bit of a ritual of it yesterday with a pot of tea and our old china and between us we polished off nearly the whole batch!

ANZAC Biscuits

1 cup self-raising flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons golden syrup
125 grams butter

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C/ 350F.

2. Grease or line baking tray with baking paper.

3. Melt butter and golden syrup together in a small saucepan over a low heat.

4. While butter is melting mix dried ingredients together in a large bowl.

5. Add butter and syrup to dry ingredients and stir to combine (I sometimes use my hands to do this towards the end to make sure that everything is really combined). Test to make sure that mixture will hold together if not add a few drops of water.

6. Take teaspoon amounts and roll into balls then flatten and place on prepared baking trays.

7. Bake for 15-20 mins or until golden. Sometimes they can be a bit chewy which is nice but if you like a crispy biscuit cook a little longer so they go a deeper brown but keep an eye on them so they don't burn!