Anzac biscuits

This time last year, Tim was posted to the NT and I visited him in Darwin. I attended my first dawn service ever. It's not that I grew up without an appreciation of Anzac Day. I think it was just that my parents weren't into waking up five kids in the early hours of the morning, rugging them up against the freezing Canberra weather, driving around looking for a car park somewhere in the vicinity of the War Memorial and then standing about shivering until it was all over. 

Last year I didn't have to rug up. In fact, I wore shorts. Most people did. There were a few men in dark suits which I thought was lovely, respectful gesture, but with the bats playing in the foliage above while sweat trickled down the back of my legs, it crossed my mind that there really was no need to be a martyr in this weather, in the dark! Needless to say it was a moving and worthwhile experience and I'd like to repeat it some day.

With all the hoo-ha this year about whether or not Monday should be a public holiday, I decided to get back to basics and be grateful that Anzac biscuits haven't changed since I was a kid. 

This is a pretty cool recipe for any time of year, but funnily enough, I only remember them being made in April. I especially remember couples taking cute excursions together to the supermarket to buy the ingredients (I was once a checkout chick). I remember my friend Nicholas making giant sized ones that he put straight in big glass jar to look at but not eat. I remember in recent times seeing them on the shelves in the biscuit aisle and wondering why? They're so easy and fun to make, as well as being a good reminder of what 25 April represents.

I probably won't go to dawn service on Saturday. I will cook dinner for a number of friends. And I have already made and safely stowed away three-dozen Anzac biscuits. My recipe is the same one I've used since I was a kid. It works every time.

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup plain flour, sifted

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup desiccated coconut

150g butter or margerine

2 tbsp golden syrup

2 tbsp boiling water

1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

In a decent-sized bowl, combine the rolled oats, flour, sugar and coconut. Melt the butter and syrup together in a small saucepan. Mix the boiling water and bicarb in a cup and whisk this into the butter mixture. The pour the whole lot over the dry mixture. It will froth up a bit and you need to make sure it's all mixed together well with a wooden spoon.

Roll teaspoons of mixture into walnut-sized balls and put them on a lined baking tray. Make sure they have room to spread out.

Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 150º C oven. Let them sit for a few minutes and then place them on a wire rack to cool. Store them in an airtight container - if they last that long. I make three dozen from this mix. 

NB. I didn't make it with spelt this time around, but of course you can. This will make them wheat free but not gluten free because of the oats. If anyone wants a proper gluten free Anzac recipe, I do have one that I've used successfully and I'm happy to pass it on.