Guilty pleasure: Anzac Biscuits

One of my favourite guilty pleasures is an Anzac Biscuit. I love nothing more than dunking an Anzac in a fresh glass of milk. Mmmm.

So here’s some trivia about the good old Anzac bikkie just in time for ANZAC Day.

·       Anzacs are an iconic, delicious biscuit particularly famous amongst Australians and New Zealanders of all ages.

·       Different people like their Anzac Biscuits different ways. Some like them rock hard and tough to break, some like them softer and chewier. Others, in between. I think it’s reasonable to assume that the soliders on the front were enjoying their Anzac Biscuits rock-hard post-transport from Downunder. (I’m from camp chewy though I will dunk a hard Anzac rather than miss out on it).

·       ANZAC is a protected term in Australia and New Zealand and misuse (particularly for commercial purposes) is a major no-no. One exception is the Anzac Biscuit but only when it’s made to the traditional recipe. And only when it’s called a biscuit (never a cookie).

·       Reportedly, women Downunder sent their loved ones on the front Anzac biscuits because the ingredients lasted particularly well on the long journey from Aust/NZ. The biscuits were often packed into old billy-tea tins so that they were airtight for their long journey overseas.

·       The secret to a good, chewy Anzac Bikkie is the brown sugar.

·       Anzac ‘wafers’ (or ‘tile’) were a standard ration for soldiers at the front but that was more like a hard, tasteless, solid bread-substitute than a biscuit. So hard that some soldiers had to grind it down to make a porridge.

·       Not everyone packaged their Anzacs up and shipped them off to the front. Some women back home sold them locally and used the $$ raised to buy small treats/comforts for their fighting men

·       The RSL receives royalties from the commercial sale of most Anzac biscuits.

So there you go. A history lesson and a snack all in one. I’m not a cook and I’ve never made successful biscuits in my life, Anzacs included. But I do love to buy them. But if you wanted to have a crack at Anzac Biscuits this April 25th in honour of the many thousands of men lost at Gallipolli, try here .

Bake em, dunkem, eat em.

Mmmmmm.