ANZAC Biscuits

WHAT IS ANZAC DAY?

On the 25th of April each year we celebrate ANZAC Day. This day is celebrated by people in both Australia and New Zealand and now recognised to remember the sacrifice of those who have served their country in military operations and those who died in doing so. Initially, ANZAC Day officially got its’ name in 1916; a whole year after the ANZACs set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. Due to the impact the casualties had on families of the loved ones lost, ANZAC Day was originally in place to remember them and their sacrifice.

WHAT DID MY FAMILY DO THIS YEAR?

For my family, we partake in both the dawn service and the morning service each year. There are services available to go to in different areas. Normally, after the dawn service, we usually have a bbq with people in our community. This year, a lot of people stood on the ends of their drive ways with candles and tuned into a live broadcast of a dawn service instead.

Then, I did a cook up at home with sausages, bacon, eggs, garlic mushrooms and baked garlic and rosemary tomatoes. Rosemary is often worn on ANZAC day, as it is believed to help improve memory. So I decided to add it into the first meal of our day. Interesting fact; rosemary grows wild in the Gallipoli peninsula, so it’s very suitable for this occasion.

I then tuned into the Albany WA morning service. Bagpipes were played, planes flew over head and of course the Last Post was played and we had 1 minute of silence.

WHAT ARE ANZAC BISCUITS?

Due to the importance of the word ANZAC and it’s meaning, the word ANZAC is protected by Federal Legislation. ANZAC biscuits are one of the few things that can be sold with the label ANZAC on it. Originally known as “the soldier’s biscuits”, they were often made by the soldier’s loved ones back home and sent to them. Due to the delay in postage, they had to have a long “shelf life” with some nutritional value. To this day, ANZAC biscuits are still made.

HOW TO MAKE GLUTEN FREE ANZAC BISCUITS

In Primary School, we use to make ANZAC biscuits on ANZAC DAY to give out to people at the morning service. They don’t take very long to make and even as 7 year olds, we could make them. Please find my gluten free version below, it makes 12 biscuits;

WHAT YOU NEED;

-2/3 cup of gluten free plain flour

-1/3 cup desiccated coconut

-1/3 cup quinoa flakes (gluten free ones)

-1/2 cup butter

-100g brown sugar

-2tbsp golden syrup

-2tbsp hot water

-1/2tsp gluten free bicarbonate soda

HOW TO MAKE THEM

1) Preheat the oven to 160*C

2) In a bowl, mix the quinoa flakes, flour, desiccated coconut and sugar

3) Mix together the butter, golden syrup and hot water over a medium high heat until melted

4) Remove from the heat and mix in the bicarbonate soda

5) Pour into the flour mix and stir until combined

6) Using your hands, roll the batter into balls. (As the oven is a lower temperature, they will flatten out as they bake. This is as the butter will melt before the biscuit is cooked, so you don’t need to flatten them yourself before baking).

7) Bake for 10 minutes if you like them a little chewy in the middle. If you are like me and like them to have a great crunch all the way through, just leave them in the oven for an extra 5 minutes. Which ever way you prefer, remember to let them cool for at least 5 minutes to give them a chance to set after baking.