Australian buscuits

This morning I am making ANZAC biscuits to take to a belated Easter function this afternoon at the Caspi-Man's kindergarten. Or maybe not, as the Caspi-Man is not in the best of health today. But regardless, the buscuits are being made. They are in the oven as I type this. (The Caspi-Man is propped up on the couch watching "Fireman Sam", hopefully improving.)

Since moving to Germany I have become master of Australian sweet cuisine. Foods I'd have never dreamt of attempting back in Oz are these days made with frightening regularity. Pavlova is now a specialty. Lamingtons have been attempted (but have not become part of my featured repertoire as they are just too fiddly). But ANZAC's are my "piece de resistance". And they are surprisingly attractive to the German palate. (Although my advice is that it is best to not explain the significance of their name to a munching German. It is somewhat of a conversation killer. I often refer to them simply as "Australian" biscuits.) The Ger-Man occasionally requests a batch to take to work when he wants to suck up to his colleagues.

Making "Australian" biscuits in Germany used to be more of a challenge. For starters, brown sugar was not readily available here. In my early Germanic days, (back when when my life enabled it) - brown sugar was procured on work trips to the UK. Now, fortunately, it can be found here in health food shops and organic supermarkets. Golden syrup has been more of a challenge. I cannot count the jars we have bought back from Oz, or how many visiting antipodeans have had to donate 1 kg of their travel allowance on our behalf. (Unlike vegemite, a jar of Golden syrup does not stretch far.) But now, a good friend has discovered a local supplier of this caramelly goodness. (Yahoo! Butterscotch pudding can now also be on the menu.)

Besides the obvious, making "Australian" biscuits has many benefits:

1. The kitchen smells gloriously caramelly.
2. Stirring the dry ingredients is fool-proof for a helpful toddler.
3. Watching the science-experiment-effect- frothing of the baking powder in butter mixture is mesmerising (and not just for a toddler).
4. Rolling the buttery batter is the best-ever treatment for dry hands.

Here is the recipe I most like to use:

Ingredients:
1 cup (90g) rolled oats
1 cup (150g) plain flour
1 cup (200g) firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup (45g) desiccated coconut
125g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Method:

Mix oats, sifted flour, coconut and sugar in a large bowl. In a small saucepan melt butter, golden syrup and water over a medium heat, stirring constantly until combined. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. (Optional: emit suitable sighs of wonderment). Stir into dry ingredients.

Place rounded teaspoons of mixture on lightly greased oven trays (we actually just place them on baking paper on oven trays) approx 5cm apart, bake in moderately slow oven (approx 150 degrees fan-forced) for about 25 minutes or until firm. Cool on trays.

Yummy, lecker!