Down Under Cookies - unmucked

In a slight flap the other morning, I realized two things. The first was that the internet is a pain in the ass when you are in a rush to find a recipe and that I have no family cookbooks. The latter necessitated the search of the former. We were busy, it was the morning, I had no idea how many moms and babes were due to arrive shortly and I said I was going to have some snacks.

I wanted to make muffins but could I find the notebook where I have all of those recipes? Not likely with baby in one arm and stirring porridge with the other hand. Turns out it was buried somewhere between some water paints and the crayon tin, stuck to a Rosie Flo colouring book with some Hello Kitty stickers. 

I went to the bookshelf looking for inspiration there. Turns out that Thomas, Charlie and Gordon don’t have recipes for Everything but the Kitchen Sink Muffins. I turned to the computer in the hopes that someone else out there employed my method of packing as much veg into a muffin as its little paper case will hold. Nope, not so, it seems. In less of a flap, I may have been able to think of googling something other than Everything but the Kitchen Sink in a tasty cake but I had two hungry girls and hadn’t had a cup of tea.

Somehow in the mayhem, I stumbled upon an ANZAC cookie recipe and bliss, just what was needed.

I have only made ANZAC cookies once or twice but, as one of the moms pointed out, we were only a few days from ANZAC Day. How timely. It is also pretty hard to pack them full of grated zucchini and carrots but they taste so darn yummy, who cares? I resisted the urge to muck about with the recipe on such short notice despite the walnuts and apricots that were crying out to be chopped up and chucked in, the raisins that were sulking in the cupboard, left behind and the leftover Easter eggs that were screaming out to lend some chocolatey richness. Cover your ears all you Aussies and Kiwis right now because I am going to muck about with the recipe, just as soon as I have twenty  minutes to think about it. 

I had to chase my daughter who, out of the corner of my eye, I saw snitch the butter off the counter and hightail it into a corner of the living room. Her panicked fingers desperately trying to get it unwrapped before I found her. She, like her father, is all about the butter and left to it would happily eat it with a spoon. I caught her, and tied her up with a skipping rope calmy suggested she should find something more constructive to do so I could get the bloody cookies made.

I made the cookies again a day later, still without mucking about, after some further online looking around. It turns out that the ratio of flour to oats to sugar to golden syrup to butter doesn’t really vary. The only thing that seems to change is whether you use white sugar or brown and how much coconut you use.There are thousands of recipes out there and my search was by no means exhaustive and I wanted to be sure. I turned to Lynda, who makes some darn tasty ANZAC cookies at our local cookie, coffee, general yumminess cafe, to see whether she does anything crazy different because her ANZACs are perfect and as big as Poppy’s head. It turns out that she uses pretty much spot on what I used, but a little more water and a little less coconut. Her cookies are neater and I expect that comes from the extra tablespoon of water. Or, maybe it is from not having to fight a spoon-wielding Poppy off the baking sheet of raw cookies. Until I make these some more, I won’t be able to tell for sure.

The recipe I used came from here. I added an extra tablespoon of golden syrup and an extra half cup of coconut both times I made them. I also flattened the cookies out a bit before baking. I will add an extra tablespoon of water next time. And, sorry purists, I will probably add some other stuff, just to try it out. But first, I need to get some more golden syrup.

ANZAC Cookies (2 dozen)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup rolled oats (I used old fashioned)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup unsweetened coconut 

125 grams (1/2 cup) butter

3 tablespoons golden syrup

1 tablespoon water (I am going to make this 2 tablespoons next time)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350º.

Mix flour, oats, sugar and coconut in a large bowl.

In a saucepan, bring butter, golden syrup and water to the boil. Add the baking soda and   then mix into the dry ingredients.

Roll into walnut sized balls and place on parchment lined baking sheets. Flatten the balls with the back of a spatula.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Try to have some left the next day.

Comments

[sweetsalty kate]

It amazes me that you have the courage to muck when it comes to baking. That takes guts. And a background in meteorology, math, and science. These look so good!

[Katie Gray]

Hi Leah
It's ANZAC Day today here in Australia, so it was a delight to open your great website and see you've made our favourite biscuit. I did have to cover my ears though, when I read that you intend to muck about with this recipe! I will let you in on a little secret, we do change them a little depending if you want soft and chewy (use 3/4 cup caster sugar instead of brown sugar), dark and crunchy (use brown sugar and bake for a little longer, or thin and crispy (use brown sugar but reduce flour to 3/4 cup).
By the way, I love your website. It never ceases to amaze me how you find the time to do all this cooking with two littlies, let alone write about it. I use my children as a constant excuse for why I can't achieve anything! Best wishes to you, Stephen and the kids. Love Katie.

[Leah]

Kate - it doesn't really take guts unless, in this case, you were staring down a band hungry Aussies and Kiwis.
Katie - I won't do anything too drastic and I will never refer to them as ANZAC cookies when I do, because clearly they won't be. And, I use my children as the excuse as to why nothing but this ever gets done.

[Hubbards Haus Frau]

Leah,
I made ANZAC cookies yesterday for a brunch that we were having with friends. (Which were most definitely inspired by the beautiful pile of ANZAC cookies that you made last week). I wish that I had been clever enough to check your blog before I made my batch. They had too much flour and definitely could have used more golden syrup. I'll try this recipe next time. Thanks again!

[Nancy Baroni]

Hi Leah ,

This recipe looks great! I am a beginner in the kitchen....as you can probably tell

I have a question, what is golden syrup? Is that corn syrup?
Also, could I add raisins to these cookies?

Loving the blog! Thanks for sharing your recipes and stories!
Nancy

[Leah]

Nancy - Golden syrup isn't the same as corn syrup, it is actually made from sugar cane. If you can't find it anywhere, you could substitute corn syrup but it isn't as thick so I am not sure what consistency the cookies will come out in. Have a look around, some supermarkets sell it in the imported section, some even just have it next to the maple syrup or in the baking section. It is definitely better if you can find it.
I am whispering now - you can add raisins but just don't tell anyone from Australia or New Zealand.