ANZAC day is fast approaching & it’s time again to bake some cookies for the occasion.
There are a few theories surrounding the true origins of Anzac biscuits, but what is certain is that they came about during WWI, circa1914–15... and they're delicious!
I won't be using a traditional recipe, but rather will be changing a few ingrediants to make these biscuits gluten free frienly. Only being diagnosed as ‘Gluten Intolerant’ about 9 months ago, I’m still re-learning methods of cooking & of course experimenting with the various GF foods on the market.
Some people find they react to Oats, I know that I don't so I've continued to use them in this recipe. Alternatively use something like puffed rice, GF cornflakes, rice flakes,
Quinoa flakes or similar.
So here is the recipe that I have tried to make some tasty
ANZAC biscuits:
- 1 cup of Oats (or alternative ingredient)
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1 cup of shredded coconut
- 1 1/2 cup of gluten-free plain flour, sifted
- 125 grams of butter
- 3 tbsp of golden syrup
- 1 1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tbsp of boiling water
The method is very much the same to normal ANZAC cookies:
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line your oven trays with baking paper.
2. Combine your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Put the butter & golden syrup in a small heavy-based pan & cook over a low heat until melted & combined.
(I used a ceramic dish in the microwave to speed things up.)
3. Combine bicarbonate of soda & water in a small bowl, which should fizz & bubble slightly, add to the butter mixture & stir to combine.
4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients & pour in the butter mixture. Stir until well combined & all dry ingredients are moistened.
5. Put tablespoons of mixture, well apart to allow for spreading, onto the prepared trays.
(I used my hands to roll the biscuits into a desirable shape & size rather than a tablespoon)
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Stand the trays on wire racks until the biscuits are firm & cool. Transfer the biscuits to the wire racks & leave until cold.
GF ingredient's don't rise or spread as much as normal, so you won't need a huge amount of room to spread.
If you store your GF ANZAC biscuits in an air-tight container, they last for a few weeks.
If you like soft cookies, pull them out of the oven a few minutes early... which I always do!
My results were...
I really enjoyed these cookies.. so much so that I won't be able to test to see how long they last unless I make another batch!
On a side note, even though these were GF, they tasted virtually the same & even my boyfriend hadn't noticed until I told him (I usually have to make him something separate to mine, poor dear).
Sianne
