Australia’s Anzac Biscuits

It’s Wednesday. The BLAH day. What could make this better? How about a cookie. Let’s go for Australia’s Anzac Biscuits.

The last week has been a blur. I blinked, woke up and it had somehow been almost a week since I made the Hokey Pokey. Part of it was that Orange was in town last weekend for her annual Chicago pilgrimage and the other part I have to attribute to nothing more than my own laziness.

So Oz and NZ have been pushed a bit, but I’m hoping to get everything checked off my list. The next thing up is the Australian favorite, the Anzac biscuit.

When I first failed to put these buttery bites on my list, more than one person commented that I just HAD to make them because they are the best. Echoed by my bestie Apple Crisp, who spent a semester down under (though, remembering back to her emails, I’m not sure how she managed to remember anything that happened those 5 months, let alone a favorite cookie…kidding, I love you AC!), the Anzac biscuits were going to be made.

So what’s the deal with these cookies that I just HAD to make? According to this very cool site All Down Under, these biscuits popped up around 1915 when girlfriends, sisters and wives would send them to soldiers abroad. Originally called Soldier’s Biscuits, they were renamed Anzac after the now famous landing on Gallipoli, for those brave fighting men, the ANZACS (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps). The name stuck and they’re still a favorite back home.

One potential blip in my biscuit making endeavor could have come from one ingredient-Golden Syrup. Namely, Lyle’s Golden Syrup. Back in 1881, Abram Lyle discovered that the process of refining sugar yielded a sort of treacle, golden-y syrup by-product and he decided to package and sell it on its own. Golden syrup popularity has stuck and it remains a pantry staple in much of the UK and British Isles, but isn’t all too common in my parts.

BUT- Canada to the rescue! I’ve mentioned once or twice before that my mom’s family originates in Canada which just so happens to be a member of the British Commonwealth. Because of this, we always had golden syrup on our table and used it on everything from baking to pancakes in place of honey or maple syrup. With mom living in close proximity to the Canadian border, we have easy access to the goods, and this golden treacle is still, to this day, a pantry staple in my house. If you can’t find the syrup, here’s a recipe to make it at home. I also wonder if molasses would work, though it’d give it a more molasses-y flavor, obviously.

Fun fact: The logo of Lyle’s is a rotting lion surrounded by bees. While a bit cryptic in my mind, apparently it is a reference to a story in the Old Testament, in which Samson killed a lion, then saw that bees had formed a honeycomb in the lion’s carcass…“Out of the strong came forth sweetness”. I guess that’s one way to get that point across.

Lots of recipes out there, but I combined a few to make it my own. They are so easy and take so little time. No mixer required.

So good…the masses were right in their insistence I make the Anzacs.  I hope you give them a try!