Anzac biscuits (the travelling biscuits)
A golden, crunchy biscuit with rolled oats and coconut, bound with golden syrup, eggless — which makes it stable for a long time. Caramelized, fragrant, it holds in a tin and accompanies tea for weeks.
A golden, crunchy biscuit with rolled oats and coconut, bound with golden syrup, eggless — which makes it stable for a long time. Caramelized, fragrant, it holds in a tin and accompanies tea for weeks.
The clever thing about these biscuits is that there's no egg — so they don't spoil, they travel, they wait patiently in their tin. At school, they told us they used to send them to soldiers far away, precisely for that reason. The trick is the bicarbonate dissolved in boiling water with the syrup: it foams, it puffs, and the biscuit becomes light. I always kept a stash when I was writing late; a biscuit, a tea, and off we go. Crunchy or a bit soft in the center, everyone has their camp — I liked them well browned.
- •Rolled oats — a good cup (structure)
- •Flour — a cup (structure)
- •Desiccated coconut — a cup (flavor and texture)
- •Sugar — a cup (sweetness)
- •Golden syrup — two tablespoons (binder and caramel)
- •Butter — a good knob (fat)
- •Bicarbonate of soda — a pinch (leavening)
- •Boiling water — a little (activates bicarbonate)
Anzac biscuits (the travelling biscuits)
A golden, crunchy biscuit with rolled oats and coconut, bound with golden syrup, eggless — which makes it stable for a long time. Caramelized, fragrant, it holds in a tin and accompanies tea for weeks.
Why this dish? Eggless, they keep for weeks: these Australian biscuits accompany a whole life of "smoko," those tea breaks Blackburn experienced everywhere, from the Cambridge lab to Berkeley's, when you nibble an oat shortbread between two manipulations.
The clever thing about these biscuits is that there's no egg — so they don't spoil, they travel, they wait patiently in their tin. At school, they told us they used to send them to soldiers far away, precisely for that reason. The trick is the bicarbonate dissolved in boiling water with the syrup: it foams, it puffs, and the biscuit becomes light. I always kept a stash when I was writing late; a biscuit, a tea, and off we go. Crunchy or a bit soft in the center, everyone has their camp — I liked them well browned.
Ingredients (period version)
- Rolled oats — a good cup (structure)
- Flour — a cup (structure)
- Desiccated coconut — a cup (flavor and texture)
- Sugar — a cup (sweetness)
- Golden syrup — two tablespoons (binder and caramel)
- Butter — a good knob (fat)
- Bicarbonate of soda — a pinch (leavening)
- Boiling water — a little (activates bicarbonate)
Ingredients
- Rolled oats — 100 g (structure)
- Flour — 100 g (structure)
- Desiccated coconut — 75 g (flavor and texture)
- Sugar — 100 g (sweetness)
- Golden syrup (or honey) — 2 tablespoons (binder and caramel)
- Butter — 125 g (fat)
- Bicarbonate of soda — 1/2 teaspoon (leavening)
- Boiling water — 1 tablespoon (activates bicarbonate)
Method
- Preheat oven to 160°C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, mix oats, flour, coconut, and sugar.
- Gently melt butter with golden syrup in a saucepan.
- Dissolve bicarbonate in boiling water, then add to melted butter: the mixture foams immediately.
- Pour onto dry ingredients and mix until a crumbly dough holds together.
- Form small balls, place spaced apart, and flatten slightly.
- Bake for 12–15 minutes until golden. Cool on the sheet: they harden as they cool.
- Store in an airtight tin.
How it was made : Anzac biscuits take their name from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). According to tradition, their eggless recipe and stability allowed them to be sent to soldiers during World War I. Having become a national emblem, they have been a classic of "smoko" and home baking throughout the Australia of Blackburn's childhood.
The contemporary twist : Stamp them with a small propeller cookie cutter or store them in a tin labeled "energy reserve — extended shelf life," a nod to Blackburn's work on cellular longevity.
Elizabeth Blackburn · Charactorium