Anzac Biscuits

So. Tomorrow is Anzac Day; a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand. We honour and remember all the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps. A.N.Z.A.C.

There is a dawn service and I will be attending. At dawn. AKA: Really early in the morning on a Public Holiday.

I’m not complaining… I’m just sayin’ these cookies might help with the early morning wake up. And they will be a welcome addition to the morning coffee. You see, on ANZAC day in stead of putting milk in your coffee… you put rum. Or maybe both. I’m not sure what that’s all about but it’s what they do here, and who am I to question tradition? They also play a game called Two Up at 2pm that is (and get this…) ONLY legal on Anzac Day. The game consists of heavy betting over the results of two coins being tossed at one time.

What a country.

As an honourary Australian, I have taken it upon myself to bake the cookie that has taken the ANZAC name. Apparently these Anzac Biscuits were often sent to soldiers abroad by their wives. The cookies keep very well and didn’t spoil during transportation overseas.

I made a couple batches of these. I’m not sure if I’ve got them exactly right yet either. Some people like the really crunchy, some like them chewy. It is a national debate of sorts. These are more on the soft and chewy side. But with a bit longer baking time, they had a crisp exterior.

You should bake them! And Remember some ANZACS. 🙂

Traditional (Vegan) Anzac Biscuits

1 1/4 c. flour1 c. oats
1/2 c. raw caster sugar
3/4 c. cup shredded or desicated coconut
2 tbsp golden syrup
150g nutlex (or other butter substitute – earth balance etc)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tbsp. boiling water

Preheat your oven to 170*C. Mix all the dry ingredients first, flour, oats, coconut & sugar.

Heat up the golden syrup and butter on medium in a small saucepan until fully melted and combined. Now mix the baking soda and 1 1/2 tbsp of boiling water in a separate small bowl. Combine the two mixtures (be careful as it will foam up quite a bit). Make sure you have removed the butter mixture from the heat when you do this.

No add the wet to the dry and combine well. Place tablespoons of the mixture on a lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

 

x

and now for MINE.

When my brother and I weren’t playing the flap jack game… or pushing each other down the stairs in cardboard boxes… we were often found sitting around the big wooden kitchen table trying to conceal our cookies.

It was a thing. A game of deception, if you will. After a meal my mom and dad would give us each two cookies for dessert. We would both proceed to eat our first cookie cautiously, while eyeing the other sibling and their cookie eating ways. At some point, someone would likely become distracted (usually me) and the other (usually my brother) would take this opportunity to hide his second cookie, then continue eating as if nothing happened. Usually hiding the cookie meant sitting on it. or stuffing it down your shirt. Either would suffice.

I usually became so tied up in enjoying my cookies that I would accidentally eat not only one but BOTH cookies (!!!) forgetting the game of deception altogether until it was too late. Or worse still, I would get to my second cookie and notice my brother was cookie-less. I would then gleefully rub it in his face that I was still enjoying my dessert like a KING. (Rookie mistake)

This is where things took a turn for the worse. When my brother was satisfied that I had finished both my cookies, he would WHIP out his remaining cookie and sing-song those HORRIBLE words that would ring in my ears for hours after…

‘annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd NOW for MINE!…’

At this point he would proceed to savour said cookie to the best of his ability. Making delicious and over-exaggerated noises of enjoyment as he munched away.

That cookie hiding bastard.

I knew this game all toooo well, but for some reason, I seldom remember winning.

It really makes no sense since we both got the same amount of cookies, but my six year old brain seemed to think that if he was still eating cookies, than I should be too. Good GOD I hated that game.

This recipe is cookie revenge. Because I baked them. And therefore I will eat them all. AND NOW FOR MINE.

what.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Adapted from here

1  1/2 c. walnuts
2 c. regular oats
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. Rapadura Sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
2 tbsp oat milk
3.5 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toast the walnuts in the oven for about 10 minutes. After they have cooled, quickly process the walnuts until they make a fine meal.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, sugar and only 1 cup of the oats. Now add the ingredients to the food processor and process until just mixed.

In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients (soften the coconut oil if you need to first) and pour this mixture into the food processor. Process until the entire mixture is thoroughly combined.

In the medium size bowl, mix this entire mixtures with the remaining 1 cup of oats. Fold in the raisins.

For the cookies, take about 2 tbsp of dough, make a ball, and then flatten onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350F. Watch them because they will go dark very quick! Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes before placing onto a cooling rack.

So yummy! Maybe next time I’ll try them with chocolate.

xxx

‘STOP calling me SIR!’ – Peppermint Patty…

EEEeeep! I feel like I’ve been slacking. And since I have only six subscribers… I didn’t really think anyone would notice. That is until I caught wind of the fact that one of my most avid readers (my grandma) has been not-so patiently waiting for my next post. Wooops. Things have been busy, Grandma! Girl’s gotta work… But that’s no excuse! I’ve already failed at my baking bucket list-one recipe a week, PFT!

On the bright side, I’m looking into purchasing a food processor and… AND(!) we finally got to purchase a kitchen trolley from IKEA… pictures to follow when we get around to sanding and oiling it. I predict that this new found counter space and possible addition of cooking appliances will increase my baking ten fold! (Ambitious)

However, I did a bit of midweek baking this week and I’ve been meaning to share, so here we are.

peppermint patty

These peppermint patties were delicious! Everything tastes so much better when its home made, no? These cookies are not only my mother’s favourite but also that of a lovely lady I work(ed) with. She just left the company, and as a farewell present I made her these deliciois treats. They were a hit, so now I just have to clean up my chocolate coating techniques and perfect them for when my mother visits in December.

Did you know that the Peppermint Patty of Peanuts was named after these cookies? Kudos to you if you got the reference in my title. Marcie alwasy called Peppermint Patty ‘Sir’. I think they were lesbians.

Mmm… I just made that up. But that wholesome comic strip did have some mighty fine love triangles, so you never know. Also, I just googled it and it is definitely up for questioning. It’s a general consensus that because she wears birkenstocks, Patty must be a lesbian. Well, by that reasoning… pretty much every girl aged 13-60 has some serious thinking to do. Just sayin…

But that is neither here nor there… Lesbian or not, Patty is definitely the most delicious when peppermint.

ohhh the many uses of a mason jarrr...

As with any mint-chocolate combination these bad boys taste best straight out of the fridge or freezer. They’re perfect for any season too! Summer, Winter… it doesn’t matter. The best part was… no oven required. Simply mix, refridgerate and coat in melted chocolate.

Peppermint Patties

Adapted from here

2 1/4 c. confectioners sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. light corn syrup

1 1/2 tbsp. water

4-6 drops of essential peppermint oil

1 tbsp. coconut oil

1/4 c. confectioners sugar for rolling/kneading

1 large bar of dark chocolate for melting
Combine the confectioners sugar, corn syrup, water, peppermint oil and coconut oil. You can use a hand mixer, but I have limited kitchen tools, so my efforts were all man power. It took a while to come together, but it did. I added a bit of extra water, which may have been a mistake. Just work at it.

Sprinkle some confectioner’s sugar on your counter top and knead the dough until smooth. Roll it out between to pieces of parchment paper and place in the refridgerator to firm up.

After about 20 minutes, peel off one side of the parchment and sprinkle the dough with somre sugar. Repeat on the other side. Cut out one-inch rounds and set aside… preferably back in the fridge to keep them firm. I used a shot glass as a cookie cutter. It was the perfect size.

NExt melt your chocolate using a double boiler… and pretend you know how to temper chocolate. Go so far as to take the chocolate off the heat and allow it to cool to 80 degrees (you just knowww when that is) and then put it back on the heat until it reaches 88-91 degrees. Again, you just know. Who needs a thermometer? Not me. (But really I doooooo. What the hell, who thought melting chocolate could be so labour intensive?)

Cool the chocolate slightly before dipping each peppermint round in. Allow excess chocolate to drip off and then place on a sheet of parchment, or a silplat. I could give you tips for this part… but they would all be lies. And as a general rule I try not to lie. I failed at this part. My little rounds began melting in the chocolate… somehow they all turned out, but kind of definitely look like they were made my a four year old. Especially since I doused them in sprinkles to hide my handy work. haha

Allow them to set in the fridge until the chocolate is firm and then eat them. Lots of them.

xxx