Remembering ANZAC Day with a Roads Classic: ANZAC Biscuits

Troops at Anzac Longing for Treats from Home

Australian troops served in the Middle East and Western Front during the Great War—a much, much, longer way from home than, say, Tipperary. The folks at home, however, wanted to develop something that would survive the journey to their boys at the front. Anzac biscuits were created to fill this need.

Drawing on Scottish oatmeal based delicacies, Anzac biscuit recipes omitted eggs because of the scarcity of eggs during the war (after most poultry farmers joining the war effort) and so that the biscuits would not spoil when shipped long distances. The product the women of Australia created turned out to be delicious although the biscuits—like the equally yummy Italian biscotti—are distinctly on the hard side. This, though, makes them absolutely perfect for dunking in coffee.

Anzac Biscuits—Worth Enlisting for!

Recipe:

This is the variation using coconut of the Country Women's Association of New South Wales that has been personally tested and approved by the editor/publisher of Roads to the Great War.

Ingredients:

    1 cup each of rolled oats, sugar and coconut
    1 tablespoon Lyle's Golden Syrup
    3/4 cup flour
    2 tablespoons butter
    1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (dissolved in 2 tablespoons boiling water)

Method

    Melt butter.
    Add syrup to dissolved soda and water. Combine with melted butter.
    Mix dry ingredients and stir in liquid.
    Place small balls on a buttered tray and bake in moderate oven.
    Lift out carefully with a knife as they are soft till cold.

Source: Australian War Memorial Website