April 25th is ANZAC Day, commemorating the landing by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli on April 25th, 1915. Nowadays it is a day of remembrance where we honour the memories of those who have served and died in all military operations. The spirit of ANZAC is one of courage, mateship and sacrifice, according to the Australian War Memorial website.
The history of the ANZAC biscuit (cookie for you my North American friends) actually predates World War I and can be traced back to Scotland, famous for its oat cakes. I remember learning about them in school, however that was a very long time ago so the following information was found at the most excellently named Digger History website – sadly no longer active but you can see some info from the site on Wikipedia too (a “digger” for those of you who don’t know, is the Australian and New Zealand military slang term for a soldier).
During World War I, mothers, wives and girlfriends would often send care packages to their men, concerned for their nutritional welfare. The problem was that the ships carrying the packages would sometimes take in excess of two months to arrive, so any food had to be edible even after that long without refrigeration. The ANZAC biscuit not only met the nutritional requirements of these women, but also contains only a few ingredients, none of which spoil quickly. These were dubbed ANZAC biscuits after the landing at Gallipoli.
Image from the Australian War Memorial website.
You’ll notice there are no eggs in these recipe. During the war, eggs were scarce, so the binding agent is the golden syrup. To make sure the biscuits stayed crisp on the long voyage, they were packed in tins such as airtight Billy Tea tins (I happen to like my ANZAC biscuits chewy so I wouldn’t have minded had they arrived not so crisp!)
ANZAC biscuits are one of the few things that are able to be legally marketed in Australia using the word ANZAC which is protected by Federal Legislation.
They are a forgiving biscuit; indeed, I made these when I was extremely distracted and forgot to mix the baking soda with the water before I added it to the melting butter and golden syrup. I also forgot the flour (!) and added it in after the wet ingredients, but they turned out ok. They’re temperamental and unpredictable, turning out very differently each time you make them – sometimes crunchier, sometimes chewier – but always so tasty.
These are for my Poppa and my Uncle Andrew, who both served with the armed forces (Holland and Australia). xoxo
UPDATED RECIPE FROM 2015 below!
ANZAC biscuits
A sweet biscuit (cookie) from in Australia/ New Zealand associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). It's said that during World War I, mothers, wives and girlfriends would often send care packages to their men, concerned for their nutritional welfare. The problem was that the ships carrying the packages would sometimes take in excess of two months to arrive, so any food had to be edible even after that long without refrigeration. The ANZAC biscuit not only met the nutritional requirements of these women, but also contains only a few ingredients, none of which spoil quickly. These were dubbed ANZAC biscuits after the landing at Gallipoli.
Ingredients
- 150 g (1 cup) all-purpose (plain) flour
- 100g (1 cup) large flake rolled oats (not instant)
- 100g (3/4 cup) desiccated coconut
- 150g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 113g (1 stick/ 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup (or sweet brown rice syrup)
- 1 tablespoon boiling water
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325˚F.
- Line two baking trays with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the oats, coconut and sugar.
- Melt the butter and golden syrup in a medium saucepan.
- Mix the boiling water and baking soda in a small cup.
- Add the baking soda mixture to the butter (it will froth up a bit - don't worry!)
- Pour the butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Roll the mixture into balls (I used around 2 tablespoons of mixture). It might feel a little crumbly but it should come together if you squeeze the mixture in your hands. You can also add a drop or two of hot water if you find it too crumbly.
- Place on baking trays, roughly 5cm apart.
- Press gently with a fork or the back of a flat spatula to flatten slightly (don't press too hard!). Bake for 13 minutes until golden brown. They will be still soft to touch.
- Remove trays from the oven and allow the biscuits to sit on the trays for a few minutes, then carefully transfer them (still on the parchment) to wire cooling racks and allow to cool completely.
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What a great history and story…and recipe. Those tins are beautiful.
Aren’t they just?
Thanks for sharing this bit of history with us. I had heard of ANZAC biscuits before, but never really knew the history behind them. I must try making some soon.
Sweet tribute to your Poppa and Uncle. 🙂
I think Poppa and Uncle Andrew would have loved them!
Nice story and recipe! It’s funny you forgot some stuff and did it another way, I do that all the time with recipes I’m supposed to know well… It sometimes ends up tasting even better (ok, sometimes not 😉 )
These cookies look awesome anyway!
Fortunately the order of ingredients for this recipe is not that important (phew!)
This is really fascinating and I love the images you found to illustrate your story. I think it is important to remember things like this as minor as they seem today for it really tells a tale of humans, the men who served and the women who took care of them, even from afar. The cookies actually sound pretty good for hard-travelling treats! Delish with a cuppa!
Isn’t it a great story? And yes, they taste great, not like “hard-travelling” treats!!!
I had heard of ANZAC biscuits before but your post gives some wonderful detail about how they came to be. I love the old tins (I used to gather them throughout the year in anticipation of sending out Christmas cookie care packages). Thank goodness for ‘forgiving’ cookies – ‘distracted’ is my usual state of being recently and it would be a shame to ruin such a treat!
Yes, forgiving recipes rule!!!
What an interesting history on the biscuit, thank you for sharing that background.
You are welcome – glad you enjoyed it!
That’s a darling post Mardi! Thanks for the history (and translation for us North Americans)!
LL
You are so welcome LL!
Oats and coconut? I’m sold. I love learning about little treats that I’ve never heard of from your site, Mardi! Such fun pictures too to really illustrate the history of the “biscuit” for us. Somehow calling them biscuits instead of cookies makes them seem much more healthy, no? I think I’ll start trying it and see if it makes me feel less guilty when I break them out late at night 🙂 Happy Sunday, Mardi.
Oh they are definitely much better for you than a lot of other treats out there!!!!
These look tasty, with an intriguing story to go along with them. Thanks for sharing the story and recipe.
Yes they are pretty tasty!
Alas, I only get these wonderful treats once a year…
Now Mr Neil what stories has Mardi been telling you!! Anzac biscuits aren’t a sacred item to be eaten only once a year, we make them all the time here in Oz because they’re just so simple and easy to make. The only bad thing, they don’t last long enough to worry about an airtight container.
LOL – I really should have made a double batch!
Well YOU could make them too!
lovely history lesson and cookies!
Cheers Penny!
A much deeper history than I had ever been told. Thanks! And thank you for the recipe!
You’re welcome – I find stuff like this fascinating!
Wonderful history lesson! Knowing the story behind a certain food always makes it more interesting to eat.
I agree!
What a great post Mardi. Your biscuits(glad you didn’t call them cookies) look wonderful. they turned out better than mine, but as you know they are never the same. Glad you also leave ingredients out by mistake. Must be in the genes.
Yes, I think it’s hereditary – along with leaving all the cupboard doors open!
Happy ANZAC Day to you, Mardi =) And good on you for making the biscuits!
Cheers mate!
I love those old biscuit tins. I need to get myself some. Tupperware (or rather, the cheap knockoff stuff I have) really isn’t the same.
I just ate my last ANZAC biscuit 🙁
My mum used to collect old tins and I am pretty sure we had some ANZAC ones. Don’t know where there are anymore though 🙁
Thanks for the history surrounding this cookie. I seriously had no idea it was born of war-time and helped fuel the troops way back when. Now, that’s a cookie with a story.
I know – I love a cookie with a great story behind it too!
It was like I was mind mapping and loving it. What an ingenious presentation, photos and well researched material. I just loved it. Thank you so very much and look forward to more! more! more!
Wonderful blog,
Cheers, Penelope
Thanks Penelope! Appreciate you stopping by!
I love this post. Never even heard the term before, I have to confess, so the intriguing mystery of the title followed by the picture of the golden-brown goodies was terrific 1-2 salvo (hey! military term) to keep me reading.
LOL Carrie! You should make them with Mooch!
great post! love the history that you shared about the treat, as well as the recipe 🙂
It’s a great story isn’t it?
great post! thanks for sharing the little bit of history about the cookie/biscuit. looks great!
You are so welcome!
I loved learning about the history of anzac biscuits! It makes me curious how many of our favorite foods came about.
Glad you enjoyed the read!
Thanks for giving me a history lesson Mardi, that is my weakest subject so I’m always up for learning something new! I also love how you put the biscuits on a map, great shot 🙂
Aw thanks re: the photo – TS and FG didn’t think so!
Great story Mardi…and part of it could be copied and used for one of your Macaron posts, i.e. ‘They’re temperamental and unpredictable, turning out very differently each time you make them’ – but I love the history and tradition.
My father served in the US Army Air Corps during WWII as a fighter pilot and is still alive, so honoring the military in any way reminds me of him, too. I think I’ll make some of these cookies and send him a tin; I’m sure he would enjoy the story as well.
Oh I think your dad would love these Barb! And yes, they do remind me of macarons in that they are SO different each time you make them!
Great to learn the history of ANZAC biscuits, and thanks for sharing the recipe too!
You’re very welcome!
Lovely tribute post, Mardi. I don’t usually eat them but I attempted to buy some at the local bakery to no avail. They remind me too much of school days!
It’s funny – I never used to eat them much as a kid but love them now!
Even the photos look good enough to eat!
Aw thanks – I never think they are very photogenic!
Great lesson in food history, I always enjoy reading about that.
Thanks – I love food history too!