Anzac Biscults

First things first, for all you non-aussies out there:

The army biscuit, also known as an ANZAC wafer or ANZAC tile, is essentially a long shelf-life, hard tack biscuit, eaten as a substitute for bread. Unlike bread, though, the biscuits are very, very hard. Some soldiers preferred to grind them up and eat as porridge.

-Encyclopedia, Australian War Memorial

(If you need to start at the very very start: ANZAC = Australian and New Zealand Army Corps)

Okay, Got your history down pat? Lets move on to yummy bikkies.



Anzacs are actually pretty easy to vegan-ise, the recipe doens't traditionally have milk or eggs. My original version is the perfect balence between chewy and crispy, and probably the best to take to "normal" people, they will love them. I've also included my healthy version of the delish Aussie favourite. 

Out of all the cookies I've ever made, these ones always go the fastest.

ANZAC Biscuits

Vegan, GF Options, Sugar Free Option

Original:

1 C Plain (GF) Flour

1 C Rolled Oats

1 Cup Desiccated Coconut (or give shredded a quick whizz in the food processor)

1/2 Cup brown sugar

4 Tsp Golden Syrup

125g Vegan Margarine (I use nutellex)

2 Tbs Water

1 Tsp Bi Carb Soda

Chuck the flour, oats, coconut and brown sugar in a bowl, stir together.

Melt together the golden syrup, margarine and water either in the microwave or in a small saucepan, stiring until the mix is homogenous. Stir in the Bi Carb.

Pour this mix into the flour mix and stir until just combined. Roll balls just bigger than golf balls, slighlty flatten then place on a lined tray. Flatten more with a fork. These guys don't tend to spread or rise. The mix tend to be fairly crumbly and a bit annoying to work with. This is a good sign of an awesome anzac though. Work through the pain.

Bake at 155C for about 9 mins, until lightly browned. Cool on tray for 5 mins, then move to a rack, or eat them all.


Healthy Version!
Note: As your dates are going to be different to my dates, only try to make this after you have made normal anzacs, just so you know what consistency you're after, and can adjusted the wetness by adding more oil, or oats and coconut.
Dates work perfectly to replace caramel taste of the brown sugar and golden syrup, and coconut butter sneaks in as the oil as they already have coconut! Simply whizz 3/4C of soaked dates until a thick paste forms, then pour in 125g of melted coconut butter. Add this with the bicarb to the flour mix. I've also mixed in hemp protein and LSA instead of some flour, which works perfectly, but will make them a bit more cakey.






Yum! Need an excuse to whip up a batch? Definitely make them on ANZAC day, the 25th of April.