Anzac Biscuits
Happy Anzac Day! This is the day in Australia and New Zealand that we remember and thank all those who have served in war, and especially the ANZACs who fought at Gallipoli in WW1. Many people start the day by attending a Dawn Service, but today we made Anzac Biscuits, another great Australian tradition.
Traditionally, I make these using the recipe from my mum’s 1950s era cookbook - the one that taught her how to cook rice when she was a newlywed. The Commonsense Cookery Book was first put out in the 1920s I think but it has since been rewritten with modern measurements and without so many references to things like dripping, but Mum (and me) still use her old one for some of the faves she has been making for years.
Having said all that, I used a different recipe today (from a magazine) because I didn’t have any Bi-Carb Soda in the cupboard and I knew I had recently seen a new recipe that was quite different and I was curious to taste the difference. Here’s today’s recipe:
- 125g butter, chopped
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup
- 1 cup SR flour (Self-Raising Flour, see note below)
- 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup quick cooking oats
Preheat oven to 180 C, 350 F (or 160C, 320 F if fan forced). Line baking trays with baking paper. Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Combine butter and golden syrup in small saucepan over moderate heat, cook and stir until melted, then cool slightly. Stir butter mixture into dry ingredients. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls, flatten slightly on tray. Bake for about 12 minutes, until golden. Cool on trays.
NOTE: SR flour is Self-Raising Flour and it is Plain Flour with a rising agent added. It is common here in Australia. I have googled and found that in Southern US, there is something called Self-Rising Flour but not sure if it’s the same. The internet says to convert plain flour into self-raising flour, add two teaspoons of baking powder to each cup of plain flour. Adding one teaspoon of cream of tartar and half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to one cup of plain flour gives the same result. Searching also tells me that our Plain Flour is the equivalent of US All-Purpose Flour.
All measurements are Australian metric. 1 cup is 250 mL and a tablespoon is 20 mL.
Captain Ralph Honner in Libya, 1941.
On this day I think of my dad who fought in the wars in Vietnam and Korea, and my brother who was a pilot with the RAAF and of course my late Grandpa. My grandfather, Ralph Honner was a very distinguished soldier during WW2, particularly known for his leadership on the Kokoda Track campaign.
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tags: anzac, anzac biscuits, anzac day, causes, cooking, honner, kokoda, recipe, war
Canadian reader here, and would love to try this recipe, but am wondering what “SR flour” is. Perhaps what we call “all-purpose flour”?
I learned something new! Thanks for posting this and sharing part of your personal history! Interesting.
Organizing Mommy’s last blog post..Singing in the home