Anzac – Vegan Oatmeal and Coconut Biscuits

I found this recipe on a fellow Hungarian food blogger’s site, Niki. I haven’t heard of this Anzac biscuit before. Have you? Let’s see the interesting story of it…

Anzac biscuits have long been associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) established in World War I. It has been claimed the biscuits were sent by wives to soldiers abroad because the ingredients do not spoil easily and the biscuits kept well during naval transportation. Today, ANZAC biscuits are manufactured commercially for retail sale. The first published use of the name Anzac in a recipe was in an advertisement in the 7th edition of St Andrew’s Cookery Book (Dunedin, 1915). This was a cake, not a biscuit, and there were no mixing instructions. The combination of the name Anzac and the recipe now associated with it first appeared in the 9th edition of St Andrew’s Cookery Book (Dunedin, 1921) under the name “Anzac Crispies”. Subsequent editions renamed this “Anzac Biscuits” and Australian cookery books followed suit. This is a sweet biscuit and very popular in Australia and New Zealand. (Source: Wikipedia.)

– 100 g rolled oats

– 100 g desiccated coconut

– 100 g whole wheat spelt flour

– 50 g white spelt flour

– 100 g coconut oil

– 80 g birch tree xylitol (you can use cane sugar instead of this)

–  1 teaspoon baking soda

– 2 tablespoons rice syrup (you can use honey, agave or golden syrup)

– 2 tablespoons hot water

Preheat the oven to 170C (325F). In a small bowl combine coconut oil and rice syrup. In another separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients: oatmeal, desiccated coconut, flours, baking soda and birch tree xylitol. Pour the rice syrup mixture into the dry ingreditens, add the hot water and using a wooden spoon mix until just combined. You will get a sticky dough. Take two teaspoons of the dough, form a ball and place on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten the ball slightly, then repeat with the remaining dough. The biscuits will spread during baking so leave space amongst them. Bake for 15 minutes at 170C (325F) until the biscuits are pale golden brown.