Lest We Forget

Today we enjoyed a day off for Anzac Day.  Kind of weird having a Thursday off, but not going to argue!  If only I had looked at a calendar before I booked our "long weekend" trip to the Blue Mountains.  I'm so used to holidays being on Mondays in the US that I just assumed we had next Monday off.  I realised my mistake just after I purchased the plane tickets, so now in addition to having today off we are also taking Monday off.  Oops :)

I am guessing that most of you have never heard of Anzac Day before, so here is an explanation courtesy of Wikipedia:

Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first campaign that led to major casualties for Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. Anzac Day remains one of the most important national occasions of both Australia and New Zealand, a rare instance of two sovereign countries not only sharing the same remembrance day, but making reference to both countries in its name. When war broke out in 1914, Australia and New Zealand had been dominions of the British Empire for thirteen and seven years respectively.

Other countries may have their remembrance days, but what they don't have are cookies commemorating these days.  Behold the Anzac biscuit.  This yummy delight is something everyone should try.  Apparently family members would send them over for the troops during World War I because the ingredients didn't easily spoil.  I highly recommend trying them, they are easy to make and worth a go.

• Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 3/4 cup desiccated coconut
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup or treacle
• 150g unsalted butter, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
  

Preheat oven to 170°C. Place the flour, oats, sugar and coconut in a large bowl and stir to combine. In a small saucepan place the golden syrup and butter and stir over low heat until the butter has fully melted. Mix the bicarb soda with 1 1/2 tablespoons water and add to the golden syrup mixture. It will bubble whilst you are stirring together so remove from the heat. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix together until fully combined. Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls and place on baking trays lined with non stick baking paper, pressing down on the tops to flatten slightly. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

(and in case you were wondering, caster sugar = white sugar, desiccated coconut = baking coconut, golden syrup = corn syrup, and bicarb soda = baking soda)