Anzac Biscuits 3 ways - Traditional, with Rosemary and Gluten Free

Tomorrow is Anzac Day. I have had the privilege of visiting Gallipoli, a place both powerful and poignant, and a physical reminder that we must never forget. I visited on a warm spring day, the smell of rosemary in the air from the many bushes dotted through the peninsula scrub, fat bees lazily looping around their flowers. The sky was a cloudless blue endless except for the white streak from a jet engine and Anzac cove was calm, the only noise the gentle lapping waves despite the numerous visitors milling around, we were all mute, silent with contemplation, trying to reconcile what we knew of this place with the bright landscape itself. It is hard to imagine just how difficult this terrain is until you stand on the escarpment and look down on the narrow strip of beach where the troops landed. How it would feel landing in darkness on that beach, coming under fire and looking up at the series of ridges you cannot ascend is a horror I cannot imagine.

This week I collaborated with Chrissy from Goldilocks Lunchbox for her Aussie inspired lunch and made my "Remembrance" Anzac biscuits with rosemary and pomegranate molasses as the "something sweet" to go with her roast lamb sandwich with mint and apple relish "something big", and cheese and crackers with Chrissy's mum's amazing homemade tomato chutney as the "something small".

TRADITIONAL ANZAC BISCUITS

More than the nutritious biscuits sent in care packages to the WWI troops, Anzac biscuits are a tradition carried through generations by family recipes handed down and old dented tins packed for picnics and camping trips. These biscuits are a symbol of the Anzac spirit and should be made to share, enjoy and remember. While original Anzac biscuits didn't use butter so the biscuits wouldn’t spoil over long periods of travel, most modern Anzac biscuits, including these, are buttery and irresistible. Everyone has their own recipe for Anzacs with subtle variations and preferences for crunchy or chewy (present company no exception), I always use moist coconut flakes not desiccated coconut and like mine with a chewy center and nice crunchy edges.

Ingredients (makes 30 biscuits):
adapted from Belinda Jeffery 'Mix and Bake'

1 cup rolled oats (90 g)
2/3 cup moist flaked coconut (60 g)
1 1/4 cups plain flour (185 g)
2/3 cup raw castor sugar (150 g)
120 g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarb soda
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:
Preheat oven to 170 C

In a large bowl combine oats, coconut, flour and sugar and combine well.

Heat the butter and golden syrup in a saucepan (medium to large as it will foam up) until the butter is melted. Add the boiling water, bicarb soda and vanilla and stir quickly then pour into into the dry mix.

Mix well with a spoon then roll the sticky batter into walnut sized balls, place on a baking paper lined tray at least 5 cm's apart and press the balls to flatten slightly.

Bake for 12 minutes then remove tray from oven and lightly press the tops of the biscuits to flatten out some of the air (don't press too hard, just a light tap), return to the oven for 5 - 8 further minutes or until golden.

Allow to rest on the tray for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 2 weeks - if you possibly wait that long!

"REMEMBRANCE ANZACS" WITH ROSEMARY AND POMEGRANATE MOLASSES

It's the rosemary that I think of most about my trip to Gallipoli, it was a warm day and you could almost see the shimmer of oils rising from the bushes as the day progressed, everything was heavy with its scent. I wanted to incorporate this sensory experience with the original Anzac biscuit flavours together with pomegranate molasses from the Ottoman Empire, not so much as to dominate the golden syrup goodness but just a hint as a nod to Turkey where those lost are buried. The resulting biscuit was even better than I imagined and its aromatic flavour with slightly tart aftertaste is balanced perfectly with the oats and golden syrup making for a really, really delicious biscuit.

Ingredients (makes 30 biscuits):

adapted from the recipe above...

1 cup rolled oats (90 g)
2/3 cup moist flaked coconut (60 g)
1 cup plain flour (150 g)
2/3 cup raw castor sugar (150 g)
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
120 g butter
1 generous tablespoon golden syrup
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarb soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
Preheat oven to 160 - 170 C

In a large bowl combine oats, coconut, flour, sugar and rosemary, combine well.

Heat the butter, golden syrup and pomegranate molasses in a saucepan (medium to large as it will foam up) until the butter is melted. Add the boiling water, bicarb soda and vanilla and stir quickly then pour into into the dry mix.

Mix well with a spoon then roll into walnut sized balls, place on a baking paper lined tray at least 5 cm's apart and press the balls to flatten slightly.

Bake for 12 minutes then remove tray from oven and lightly press the tops of the biscuits to flatten out some of the air (don't press too hard, just a light tap), return to the oven for 5 - 8 further minutes or until golden.

Allow to rest on the tray for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 1 week.

GLUTEN FREE ANZACS WITH QUINOA FLAKES

Two of my good friends are gluten intolerant and we had a period of gluten exclusion trying to pin down elusive health problems which opened up a whole new world of flours and alternate baking ingredients for me. Food blogs are a great way to realise that being gluten free doesn’t mean missing out, instead you find constant inspiration for new recipes or gluten free takes on traditional favourites. One such blog is My Darling Lemon Thyme whose gluten free Anzac biscuits are as good as any Anzac I have ever tasted. Emma’s recipe (here) still has the golden syrup and butter you want in an Anzac but uses quinoa flakes as an alternative to oats which can be an auto-immune trigger for people with coeliac disease. The quinoa gives these a delicious nutty flavour and should be added to your baking list if not already there.

The first time I made Emma’s Anzac biscuits I made them exactly to recipe and they were perfect, golden crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle. When I went to make them for this post I found cupboard moths had taken a fancy to my quinoa flour and no amount of sifting would make it user friendly. I did have an unopened bag of G/F flour mix so I substituted that instead. My biscuits spread significantly more than previously resulting in thin, crisp edged, chewy, buttery biscuits with almost a brandysnap texture and equally tasty as my first lot (just flatter as you can see in the pictures!), the first tray spread completely into each other so I used a cocktail shaker to cut them into rounds instead of one baking tray shaped biscuit! I enjoyed both the quinoa flour and the G/F flour Anzac’s but the straight quinoa flour did rise and fall more like a traditional biscuit.

NB: Not all G/F premixed flours are the same, nor do they behave the same so if using experiment until you find one you like. 

Ingredients (makes 30):

Ingredients very slightly altered from My Darling Lemon Thyme G/F Anzac recipe; the only changes I made are underlined below

1 cup (90g) quinoa flakes 

1/2 cup (60g) fine brown rice flour

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (45g) gluten free flour

1 cup (200g) raw unrefined sugar

3/4 cup (60g) moist coconut flakes

125g butter (or dairy-free margarine)

1 tablespoon golden syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

4 teaspoons boiling water

1 teaspoon baking soda

Method

Preheat oven to 170 C

Place quinoa flakes, flours, sugar and coconut into a medium bowl. Melt butter, vanilla and golden syrup together in a small pan over medium heat until butter has melted.

Add the boiling water and baking soda (the mixture will foam up) and stir together briefly. Add to the dry ingredients and combine well using a wooden spoon.

Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls, the mixture is quite sticky yet crumbly so you will need to squeeze the mixture together to form the ball. Slightly flatten and place approximately 4 cm apart on baking paper lined oven trays.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cookies have risen, then fallen and have become dark golden brown in colour.

Remove from the oven and set aside on the trays for 5 minutes to set before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.