The acronym ANZAC was first coined at the time of the landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. It represents the joined brotherhood of Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. Anzac Day was inaugurated a year later in 1916 to commemorate this first anniversary of the landing. 1
Today, we hold this day high on our radar, acknowledging, reflecting, and commemorating those soldiers that have served our country in conflict, war, and peacekeeping missions. It is a day that brings families together, raising early in the morning and taking a seat alongside people of every nationality, ethnicity, and race to pay our respects, at dawn services throughout the country.
“Biscuits! Army Biscuits! Consider the hardness of them. Remember the cracking of your dental plate, the breaking of this tooth, the splintering of that.”2
In a time when all war supplies were shipped to our soldiers on large vessels, often taking many months, with no refrigeration available and when nutritional intake was poor, the humble ‘Anzac’ biscuit emerged. Created by the loving wives, mothers, and sisters of our soldiers - the basic ingredients of the original biscuit consisted of rolled oats, butter, sugar flour and golden syrup as the binder. Often referred to as ‘soldier’s’ biscuits, they were also known to be rather arduous to consume – sometimes at the expense of a tooth or two!
Fast forward to the 21st century and we have perfected many variations of the humble ‘Anzac’ biscuits to continue the tradition for generations to come.
We share with you our favourite gluten-free Anzac biscuits - from Pure Food Kitchen– with the bonus of a drizzle of chocolate to sweeten the deal.
Enjoy baking these delicious morsels with your family, in honour of all our soldiers, past, present and future.
ANZAC BISCUITS (Serves 14 cookies)
Ingredients
1.5 cups almond meal
1 cup sliced almond
1 cup desiccated coconut
1/3 cup raw honey 80g butter (sub 1/4 cup coconut oil for dairy free)
1/4 tsp baking soda pinch salt
2 Tbls milk Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Method
1. Preheat oven to 160C
2. Heat honey and butter in a saucepan.
3. Add baking soda and mix.
4. Combine all dry ingredients.
5. Pour wet mixture into dry and mix well.
6. Roll into balls, place on baking tray and press slightly.
7. Add extra milk if balls are too crumbly.
8. Bake 10-15mins.
9. Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips and drizzle on top of the cookies.
10. Leave to cool on the tray as they will harden up as they cool.
Recipe credit: Pure Foods Kitchen