ANZAC Biscuits

(This is reposted from last year and again, I'm a day late!)

Belated Happy Australia Day!  Yesterday I made ANZAC Biscuits, named after the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp who were given them went sent to fight in World War I. 

A former Australian-Kitchissippi resident (Kathy) - who used to live on Fraser Avenue and who Chaired the Broadview School Council before returning with her family to the land downunder gave me the recipe over a playdate a few years back. 

The coincidence is that - although I didn't know it at the time - yesterday was Australia Day.  So in case you ever feel the need to be adequately prepared for Australia's national holiday, or for ANZAC Day (their April 25th equivalent of our Remembrance Day), I'll share the recipe.

The cookies are yummy, my kids enjoy them. and they're easy to make.  The only caveat - they aren't low fat or low sugar - and rightly so since they were intended to be the source of lots of calories and lots of energy.  They do have a long shelf life - important when sending overseas - and do not include eggs, as poultry was scarce in wartime.

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled outs
3/4 cup dessicated coconut (unsweetened)
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (ie. baking soda)
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 cup sugar (they are quite sweet so you could probably reduce)
125 g of butter (1/2 a cup)
1 tablespoon Lyle's Golden Syrup (dating back to 1881, this is a British import http://www.lylesgoldensyrup.com/ and apparently something of an icon; you can find it at the larger grocery stores; other syrups may work equally well)

Directions

Combine oats, coconut, flour and sugar. Melt butter and add golden syrup.  Mix  baking soda with boiling water and add to butter mixture.  Stir into dry ingreients.  If dough is too dry add another tablespoon or so of hot water until it holds together.

Spoon or roll into balls and place on greaced or lined trays, with room for spreading. 

Bake in a slow oven (150 C or 300 F) for 20 minutes.  Let cool on the baking sheet for a little bit until they harden enough to move to a cooling rack.

The recipe makes between 20 and 36 depending on the size of the cookie!  Consider your audience.

Bake!

BAKE!

Winter is the season for heating up the oven, pushing up your sleeves and rolling out some fresh bread and cookies. The following two recipes are kid friendly both in the making and the tasting. They will also make your house smell wonderful.

Gingersnaps

These crunchy gingersnaps are a delicious holiday treat and can be cut into fun shapes. The dough is easy to handle and, as far as cookies go, they are tasty but not excessively sweet or high in fat.

 Boil ¼ cup of water, ½ cup of molasses and 1/3 cup of shortening, then let it cool.
 Sift together 2 cups of white flour, 2/3 cup of sugar, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, a pinch of salt, a tablespoon of ginger, ½ a teaspoon of nutmeg and ½ a teaspoon of cinnamon.
 Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
 Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into shapes.
 Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 6 to 8 minutes at 375 degrees F.

Baguettes

On a recent trip to Upper Canada Village, my 5-year-old insisted on purchasing a bag of stone milled flour as his souvenir. It seemed an opportune time to try bread making but I definitely wanted something easy. This baguette recipe is very simple and kids love the punching down of the dough. The shapes don’t have to be perfect.

 Dissolve 1 teaspoon of active dry yeast in ½ a cup of warm water. Stir with a fork and set aside for 10 minutes.
 Combine 4 to 5 cups of white flour and 2 teaspoons of salt. Add the yeast mixture and then add another 1 and ½ cups of warm water.
 Mix the dough until its sticky, then knead on a floured bread board for 10 minutes. When the dough is sticky and smooth put it in a bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let it rise at room temperature for about an hour. It should double in size.
 Punch down the dough (the fun part!) and divide it into 4 parts. Roll each part into a ball and then shape it into a baguette shape. Put the loaves on a lightly greased pan and let rise again until about double in size.
 Beat an egg and mix it with 1 tablespoon of cold water. Brush the egg mixture over the loaaves so they brown nicely. Score the loaves diagonally with a knife at about 1 inch spaces.
 Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees F and the at 400 degrees for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Tip:Putting a pan with a few cups of hot water in the oven at the same time will help keep the baguettes moist.