Macadamia Anzac Biscuits

Of course, I had to make Anzac Biscuits today, seeing as how its ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand. A day when we remember the troops who fought and died at Gallipoli in the First World War and when we pay homage to diggers, past and present who have fought for Australia. I am most definitely of the anti-war persuasion and wish that we’d never had to send young men off to be slaughtered on Turkish beaches, and think we never should have sent our soldiers to Iraq, but I have a lot of respect for people who can make that commitment and sacrifice for something they believe in so strongly.

Anyway, this is a cooking blog, not a political one, so lets get on to the biscuits, OK? The story behind these biscuits is that they were sent to the soldiers fighting in Europe in World War I because they had to remain edible for months on end (since they were being sent by ship) and packed the most nutritional value into them. Eggs were scarce, so the binding agent used was golden syrup or treacle. (Again, I had to substitute molasses) They were packed in tins which were airtight, so that the biscuits wouldn’t soak up moisture in the air and go soft.

I was excited to find this variation on the traditional recipe with the addition of macadamia nuts. I happened to have a jar in the cupboard and although I always associate macadamias with Australia, these were actually Macadamias de Veracuz (a Mexican resort town). They add a lovely flavour to the Anzacs we know and love.

75g (½ cup) whole macadamia nuts
115g (¾ cup) plain flour
1 tsp ground ginger
165g (1½ cups) rolled oats
165g (¾ cup) caster sugar
45g (½ cup) dessicated coconut
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda
125g butter, cubed, melted

Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Spread the macadamia nuts over 1 tray and cook in preheated oven for 6 minutes or until lightly toasted. Transfer to a chopping board to cool slightly, then coarsely chop.

Sift the flour and ginger into a large bowl. Add the macadamia nuts, rolled oats, sugar and coconut, and stir to combine.

Combine the boiling water, golden syrup and bicarbonate of soda in a small jug. Once the mixture froths up, stir in the butter. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Add the cooled butter mixture to the flour mixture and use a wooden spoon to combine.

Place 2 heaped teaspoons of mixture onto 1 of the lined trays and use the back of a spoon to flatten slightly. Repeat with the remaining mixture, leaving about 3cm between each. Bake in preheated oven for 13 minutes for chewy biscuits or 16 minutes for crunchy biscuits, swapping trays around halfway through cooking. Set aside for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool.

Biscuits can be kept in an airtight container for 1 week.

Probably best not to try keeping them for 2 months…even in a in a Billy Tea tin.

Enjoy!

Source: Taste