Iconic Aussie Food: ANZAC Biscuits
This is a post in an ongoing series on iconic Aussie food. Be sure to check back for more, or subscribe to my RSS feed to receive updates automatically to your reader.
When it comes to cookies, the Aussies are in love with the ANZAC. These “biscuits” are available at shops, cafes and prepared in the home. They are eaten with tea or milk, and adored as dessert or a snack. Curious as to what exactly an ANZAC biscuit is?
If you asked me, I would tell you it is much like an oatmeal cookie in the United States, but with a bit more crispy crunch.
To be more precise, an ANZAC biscuit is a cookie made of rolled oats, dried coconut and golden syrup among other cookie ingredients (flour, butter and sugar) but no eggs. They are generally known to keep for a good amount of time, and that brings us to how exactly the ANZAC biscuits get their name.
ANZAC biscuits were popular during World War I with the soldiers because all the wives would send them overseas and they would supposedly make it on the long journey there. After the famous landing in Gallipoli, they have become known as ANZAC biscuits to remember the soldiers that fought on the now ANZAC Day. It is commemorated each year in Australia in April.
ANZAC biscuits are especially popular around ANZAC Day (you can eat them while playing Two-Up), although they are often sold in shops year-round.
An interesting fact about ANZAC biscuits is that the term “ANZAC” is government-regulated. However, they allow ANZAC biscuits to be used as long as the recipe is true to form and are not termed “cookies”!
For a good ANZAC biscuit recipe, visit here.
>> Check out other iconic Aussie foods