Anzac Biscuits

There was an item on the television news the other night suggesting that the original Anzac Biscuits were in fact gingernuts!  It would seem that the biscuits that were made in homes and sent to the soldiers overseas were gingernuts, while the biscuits we know as Anzac Biscuits were “commonly eaten at galas, fetes and other public events such as parades, where they were sold to raise money to support the war effort” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_biscuit).

This recipe is my version of Anzac Biscuits which is based on my Chocolate Biscuits.  As such, I use an egg in the recipe whereas the original Anzac Biscuits, according to the wikipedia article above, did not contain egg due to the scarcity of eggs during the war.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup
• ⅔ cup ground almonds
• ½ cup white rice flour
• ½ cup rolled oats
• ⅓ cup coconut
• ½ teaspoon baking soda

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 190º C.

Place the oil and golden syrup in a small pan.  Heat carefully and only until the golden syrup is melted.  On a gas hobb on low heat, this takes only about half a minute.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Place the egg, sugar and salt in a bowl.  Beat together until pale and frothy.

Add the oil and golden syrup, and beat to combine.

Add the ground almonds, rice flour, rolled oats, coconut and baking soda.  Mix until well combined.  The mixture will be quite stiff.

Roll teaspoonfuls into balls and place on a baking tray.  Flatten with a fork or the bottom of a glass.

Bake for 14 minutes.  (This may seem an extremely precise time, but if I give the biscuits 15 minutes, somewhere in that last minute they burn!)