Anzac" cookies - La cuisine de Bernard

“Australian and New Zealand Army Corps… This is what “Anzac” means! But what does that have to do with these delicious shortbread? It’s simple, during the first world war, the wives of these fighters prepared them cakes rich in energy and which are preserved for a very long time. But they were originally cakes, not yet shortbread. Inspired most probably by the oatmeal cakes from England, the flapjacks (my recipe HERE), the link between these shortbreads and the name of Anzac was made only a little later. In any case, if you go to Australia or New Zealand, you can’t miss these so good cakes! Butter, oatmeal, coconut, golden syrup, everything is gathered to make you want to take a bite!

Recipe for a dozen “anzac” cookies:

-85g of caster sugar

-100g of oatmeal

-75g of dried grated coconut

-100g of flour

-65g of golden syrup

-60g of semi-salted butter

-60g of soft butter

-1/4 teaspoon baking soda

-15g of water

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Put the caster sugar, baking soda, flour, shredded desiccated coconut and oatmeal in a bowl and mix.

Here is the Golden Syrup that you can of course replace with honey, but its taste is still inimitable!

Place the butter and semi-salted butter in a saucepan with the golden syrup.

Bring to a simmer over low heat.

Pour the hot liquid over the dry mixture.

Add the 15g (ml) of water.

Note from Bernard:
Some recipes call for much more baking soda and mixing it with boiling water. I never do and it works perfectly.

Mix with a spoon or by hand as needed.

To make regular “anzac” cookies, I use my ice cream scoop filled to the brim. Place balls of dough on a piece of parchment paper with enough space between them.

Gently crush each dumpling with the palm of your hand, keeping a certain thickness.

Bake the “anzac” for 12 to 15 minutes. The more golden the cookies are, the crisper they will be. It all depends on what you prefer: thick or thin, crispy or even a bit chewy….!