ANZAC Biscuits

Intro

I have just come back from attending the local ANZAC Day service at the RSA Bowling Club at Waitarere.It was pelting down with rain but, as usual, the club was crammed packed. Old soldiers and their families, locals, and servicemen of every 'flavour': army, airforce, navy, police, fireservice plus the local scout troop. All beautifully dressed in full uniforms. We attend year after year because it is a part of being a Kiwi. I love joining with my community, the backpipes, Binyin's lines, the Dedication, the laying of the wreaths and listening to the haunting strains of the last post.

As long as I can remember I have been attending ANZAC ceremonies. First with my parents, then as a Brownie, Girl Guide and Ranger. I remember marching behind the solidiers in the freezing early morning darkness for the Dawn Service at Titahi Bay, then as a young bride we supported the Father in Law. Now I go to support my children who are Scouts. Today Connor laid the wreath for the Scouts, but Millie has done it in the past, and I am very proud that they conduct themselves with such decorum.

ANZAC Day is a very special public holiday in New Zealand. and Australia too, to honour our soldiers who fought and died at Gallipoli in 1915, but also other soldiers and theatres of war. Gallipoli was a disaster. The campaign took nine months, we lost a third of our soldiers, Kiwis made up a quarter of those who died at Gallipoli and it had no influence on the outcome of WWI.

What we celebrate on ANZAC DAY is the Kiwi spirit that was defined on that beach: bravery, tenacity, practicality, ingenuity, loyalty to King and comrades. We emerged as a Nation, even as we fought unquestioningly on the other side of the world in the name of the British Empire.

Anzac Biscuits

One of the food items that women in both Australia and NZ sent to soldiers during the First World War was a hard, long-keeping biscuit that could survive the journey by sea, and still remain edible. These were known as Soldiers' Biscuits, but after Gallipoli they became known as Anzac Biscuits.

The traditional Anzac Biscuit is hard and flat but newer versions are soft and chewy. There are many recipes for Anzac Biscuits. Common to most is the inclusion of rolled oats, coconut, butter and golden syrup - but never eggs which were in short supply during the First World War.

I remember making these with my Grandmother when I was just a little girl, John Imber's Mum made them for us to take tramping when we were teenagers and I make them now for the kids lunchboxes. They are delicious, indestructible and get better over the week.

Recipe

• 125g flour (4 ozs)
• 150g sugar (6 ozs)
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup rolled oats
  
  
• 100g butter (3.5 ozs)
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (soda bicarb)
• 2 tablespoons water

Mix together the first 4 ingredients. Melt butter and syrup together in a largish saucepan. Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water in a cup - then pour it into the melted butter and syrup. It will fizz up - stir it in - then stir it into the dry ingredients.

Place spoonfuls on greased baking trays and cook for 15 - 20 minutes at 180 degrees celcius (350F).

Photograph: http://www.flickr.com/photos/australian-war-memorial/3461453199/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Fruit Anzacs

Intro
The most popular recipe on my blog is Caramel Anzac slice and when I posted it I said I would also share a recipe for Anzac Biscuits. These fruity Anzacs are the ones I cook most often nowadays, rather than the traditional ones I remember cooking with my Grandmother.

When we were teenagers John Imber's Mum always gave us a big batch of Anzacs to take hiking with us. They are good energy food - its all that sugar and rolled oats!


Recipe

• 2 cups organic rolled oats
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup raisins
• 2 cups coconut
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 175 g dried apricots, sliced

• 285g butter
• 6 tablspoons golden syrup
• 4 tablespoons boiling water
• 2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celcuis. Butter a couple of cookie sheets or line with baking paper.

Mix the first 7 ingredients together in a large bowl - this recipe makes lots!
Melt the butter and syrup together in a fairly large saucepan.
Dissolve the baking soda in boiling water in a cup,then tip this mixture into the butter. It froths like mad - just stir it in - then tip it all into the dry ingredients.

Mix together then roll into walnut sized balls, place on trays and flatten with a fork or fingers. Don't put them too close and cook 1 tray first to see how far they will spread. Sometimes they spread heaps and are thin and chewy but other times they don't spread much and are a bit cakier. (Depends on humidity on the day, flour etc.)

Cook for 12 - 15 mins at 160 celcius - watch them closely they burn easily! When they are nicely golden remove them from the oven, allow them to cool on trays for a few minutes to firm up then cool on wire racks. They get better and better for a few days and keep well in airtight tins.

Nancy's Astrid Biscuits

Intro

The first bloke's Mum was a Very Good Mummy and always had home baking for her 3 hungry sons. Nancy had a core repertoire which she whipped up every Friday using 1 bowl and a wooden spoon: either a chocolate or a banana cake (always iced with chocolate icing and decorated with coloured sprinkles), little cheesecakes (pastry shells with raspberry jam, sponge cake filing and a pastry twist on top) and these yummy crunchy biscuits. I very wisely got the recipe before the Bloke and I parted ways but whenever I want to do something really nice for him (like after he's brought me firewood or fixed my pump ... again) I'll send #1 son down the road to his house with a freshly cooked batch.

Recipe

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla esence
• 2 cups flour
• half a teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• half a teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coconut
• 2 cups cornflakes

Cream together butter and sugar until pale. Add eggs and vanilla essence.

Add the rest of the ingredients, place teaspoonsful on a greased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Chewy Choc Chip cookies

 

My mission in life is to find the perfect biscuit recipe - and I think I am almost there!

This recipe is for soft, chewy chocolate chip biscuits. Sometimes I want crisp biscuits - Astrid Biscuits and sometimes I want coconut - Martha Stewart's recipe is neither soft or crisp - but delicious!

Ingredients

• 375g butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 cups brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 3 eggs
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup finely chopped crystalised ginger
• 2 cups walnut pieces
• 2 cups roughly chopped Whittakers dark chocolate

Method

Cream the softened butter and sugars for 10 minutes with the whisk attachment in a cake mixer - set the timer and walk away - 10 full minutes.

Add the vanilla essence and then eggs one by one. Remove the whisk attachment and put in the mixing attachment.

Add the sifted flour, salt and baking soda and just mix it long enough to combine - 30 seconds maybe - stop the second the flour is almost incorporated. Then tip in the nuts and chocolate and ginger and mix just enough to almost combine - finish it with a wooden spoon.

Bake the first tray: place dessertspoon-sized balls on a baking tray lined with silicon liners or baking paper or just greased. Flatten a little. Cook for 15 minutes at 165 degrees.

Look at how they worked: sometimes they spread far and wide and other times they stay quite tidy. Make up the next trays - usually 12 per tray - and flatten or not depending on the way the dough behaved. I like mine quite flat and thin.

Leave to cool on the trays for a few minutes to firm up and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Dough keeps well in the fridge for overnight - improves the flavour somewhat.

NB: you can off course leave out the ginger and walnuts and do 4 cups of chocolate instead AND you can half the recipe - I cook this size because my cake mixer is a large one and creams this volume of butter of better best.  

 

Martha's Coconut Biscuits

Intro

I dunno if I'm gonna get hammered for posting this here because it is Martha's straight recipe but I had to save it here in my blog because these are the best biscuits ever and I definitely don't want to lose this recipe.

Ingredients

• 8oz butter
• 1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tblsps
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1.25 cups flour plus 2 tblsps
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 cups coconut chips

Method

Cream butter and sugars relly well - 10 minutes in an electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Switch to a paddle. Add egg. Fold in half the coconut and half the dry ingredients, then the rest of the coconut and dried ingredients.

Roll into balls, squash and cook about 15 mins until golden.  350 degrees Fahrenheit ( about 179c in a fanbake).

Belgium Biscuits

Intro.

I love Belgium Biscuits. They are the perfect combination of sugar and spice and jam and lemon and actually nicer on day 2 once the flavours have merged and the biscuits have softened.This recipe is really 'short' and I find it heaps easier to make them in a log and slice them rather than roll them out and use a cookie cutter. The plain biscuits are a gorgeous spicy crisp shortbread and perfectly nice plain.

Recipe

• 225g softened butter
• 250g brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice
• 2 teaspoons cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• raspberry or strawberry jam
• pink icing (2 tblps lemon juice, 2 cups icing sugar, red food colouring
• pink sprinkles or glace cherries.

Cream together butter and sugar until pale and creamy, add egg and beat well. Fold in sifted dry ingredients. 

Tip onto a piece of greaseproof, in foil or baking paper and shape into a long log about 5cm diameter. Chill at least a couple of hours or overnight.

Remove from fridge, slice into 3mm thick slices, place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake for 15 min at 180 degrees. Remove from oven and leave to cool on trays.

Once cold sandwich together with jam and ice tops with pink icing. Decorate with sprinkles or halved glace cherries.

Chocolate Fudge Slice

Intro
When I was at primary school my best friend was Denise; actually she is still is one of my very best friends now. You know the kind: you can ignore each other for months and months and months then when you do get together you just pick up where you left off.

It was the late sixties when 'good' mummies were home by after-school 3pm, cooked yummy nutritious meals every night and had full cake tins. My Mum's baking included sultana cake, chocolate cake, coconut cake, ginger crunch, peppermint slice, coconut macaroons and a cruncy biscuit made with Greg's instant pudding; it came in all sorts of different flavours and the biscuits were different every time. I remember three things that Denise's Mum, Verna, made: yo-yos, coconut ice slice and chocolate fudge. My kids love this now and its easy to make. Sometimes I jazz it up with a few raisins or walnuts but its perfectly nice as it is.

Recipe

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tblsp cocoa
• vanilla essence
• 1 pkt plain sweet biscuits (eg super wine)
• 6 ozs butter - melted

Break the biscuits into pieces - not too small is best. Place in a bowl with all the other ingredients and combine.

Press into a greased or tinfoil lined biscuit tin / tray. Ice with chocolate icing and store in fridge until set. Cut into small squares once set.

Shortbread

Intro

When I have been poor, especially at Christmas time when the bambini expect things like Christmas presents and a Christmas meal, I have given gifts of food. One year I made Cashew Fudge packed into Christmas tins, another year Chocolate Truffles packed into small timber boxes which the kids dad made me out of pine offcuts which I washed green with watered down paint. Another year I made shortbread which I wrapped in cellophane and tied with red and gold ribbons. Tomato Relish, Tomato Sauce and Lemon Honey and also good gifts which people liked receiving.

Recipe

Cream together until white and fluffy

• 1 pound (454g) of butter
• 250g icing sugar

Sift together then fold in to the butter mixture in 2 or 3 batches:

• 400g flour
• 100g rice flour
• 110g cornflour

Form into 2 logs, wrap in glad wrap, greaseproof or tinfoil and refrigerate until firm.

Slice into 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick slices, put onto a greased baking sheet and mark tops with a fork making 3 rows of evenly spaced prong marks. Sometimes I use a wooden scottish shortbread mould with thistle marks.

Bake slowly at about 140-150 degrees celcius for at least 30 minutes, maybe 45 - maybe longer. They do not want to be coloured at all and are best when quite dry.