At that time, and since, handwritten recipes were swapped over kitchen tables, sent in the post in letters to friends and relatives, passed over back fences, and written into recipe books. In my heritage, with an Aussie background of six generations, many of the recipes in my collection are for baking: biscuits (cookies), slices and cakes. Whatever your cultural background, collections of family recipes, can be a treasured part of a family's heritage.While, thankfully, home baking is now more egalitarian and enjoyed by both sexes, at the time of World War I, making biscuits was part of a woman’s home duties. Shipping biscuits to the soldiers overseas as part of "care" packages was seen as part of a woman’s role in supporting the war effort.
The recipe for Anzac biscuits was born out of necessity. With long transport times to reach the soldiers overseas, one opinion is that the recipe was developed for the required long storage. (In my family, the story is that this is why the biscuits are made without eggs.)
Depending on the combination of oven temperature and cooking time, Anzac biscuits can be soft or crunchy. Preferences in my family are divided. While my choice is for crunchy, there are sometimes special requests for me to bake the softer style of lower temperature and shorter time.
Our family recipe for Anzac biscuits is shared in loving memory of my mum.
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup (plain) flour
¾ cup coconut
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp boiling water
Melt syrup and butter in a saucepan over low heat. Mix bicarbonate of soda and boiling water, then add to the melted syrup and butter mixture.
Add the liquid mix to the dry ingredients and mix well.
Place dessertspoons of mixture on greased baking trays. (I use a small flat dessertspoon, not heaped, as the mixture spreads considerably. Place the rounds of mixture well apart.)
Bake in a slow oven for 15-20 minutes until golden. Leave biscuits to cool on tray 2-3 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
