A touch of Australian History.....with every delicious crunch

The ANZAC cookie...... commonly made in abundance by patriotic citizens during Australia's annual Anzac Day on the 25th of April; but also a common favourite of cookie lovers (eg. Me!!) year round.What does ANZAC mean?

Australia and New Zealand commemorate the ANZAC Day public holiday on April 25 every year to honour the bravery and sacrifice of the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), and of all those who served their country.
The ANZAC tradition began in World War I with a landing on 25 April, 1915 near Gallipoli on the Turkish Aegean coast. Because of a navigational error, the ANZACs came ashore about a mile north of the intended landing point. Instead of facing the expected beach and gentle slope they found themselves at the bottom of steep cliffs, offering the few Turkish defenders an ideal defensive position. Establishing a foothold, the Anzacs found an advance to be impossible. After eight months of stalemate the Allies withdrew, leaving 10,000 dead amongst the ANZACs and over 33,000 British dead.

Although Australia's official national day is in fact "Australia Day", many Australians have now come to regard ANZAC Day as the true national day of the country. Despite federation being proclaimed in Australia in 1901, many argue the "national identity" of Australia was largely forged during the violent conflict of World War 1, and the most iconic event in the war for most Australians was the landing at Gallipoli.

Marches by veterans from all past wars and current serving members of the Australian Defence Force are held in capital cities and towns nationwide. The ANZAC Day parade from each state capital is televised live with commentary. These events are followed generally by social gatherings of veterans, hosted either in a pub or in an RSL Club, often including a traditional Australian gambling game called "two-up", which was an extremely popular pastime with ANZAC soldiers. The importance of this tradition is demonstrated by the fact that though most Australian states have laws forbidding gambling outside of designated licensed venues, on Anzac Day it is legal to play "two-up".

My first encounter with an Anzac cookie was in 2004. It came in a dodgy little plastic wrapper and was hard as a rock! I took a bite...broke a tooth, replaced cookie in wrapper...and never again looked at an Anzac cookie. *laughs*

Just recently...pretty little Amanda; who has been an avid fan of my cookies and baking, convinced me to give the ANzac cookie another go. A workmate of hers had generously shared with her a family secret, and she was kind enough to let me in on the recipe! I've tried baking Anzac cookies before...but not like these....i was completely blown away~ they are absolutely divine; far superior by comparison; to the "broken tooth" and "out-of-the-jar"versions of the Anzac cookie. They didn't look like much at the beginning..and I was almost dissapointed even before I took them out of the oven...but *sigh* I was so very mistaken, after the first 5 minutes of baking my first batch, an intoxicating cookie scent lingered through my kitchen, and completely changed my thoughts about the recipe. The cookies had Chewy centers....dark golden crusted crisp corners and the best ever oatmeal cookie texture I've ever had.... I'd give this cookie a 6 out of 5 *wink* I shan't talk about the health properties of this cookie...*sly's away*...hehe..to be honest; the dough gets a little greasy and sugar proportions are a tad bit higher than I'm used to...but DANg it~ the cookie is so~ worth that little extra time at gym! Try it...It'll transform your many fowl perceptions of the Anzac cookie.

1 cup self-raising flour

1 cup sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup rough desiccated coconut (dried)
125g butter
2 tbs golden syrup
1tsp baking soda
2 tbs water

Combine flour, oats, sugar and coconut in a bowl. set aside. in a saucepan, add butter, golden syrup, water and baking soda. stir until smooth. add wet to dry and mix. roll into balls and place on a lined or well-greased baking tray. place into a moderate oven (180-190 degrees celcius0 for 8-12 minutes. let biscuits sit until they have set.(I used a microwavable bowl instead of the saucepan...worked out fine ;)
*the cookie dough can get a little tricky and messy in your hands...I used a melon baller to scoop portions out..but an ice cream scoop should be fine too. Remember to place them WELL apart as they bake..you might end up with a HUGE-ENORMOUS cookie (like-so) if you don't, but then again...could that really be a bad thing *cheeky grin*