Anzac Bikkies

Anzac Day is a big deal to Aussies. I'm not going to go into the ins and outs of what it commemorates (look at the link for that), but it's a big deal for us.

When I met my husband I baked these cookies for him and he swooned. They are now his favourite cookie (or biscuit in Aus/NZ/UK speak).

What you will need to procure is some Golden Syrup. Do not even think about substituting corn syrup or anything else for this. It won't work and you'll blame me. In the US and Canada the most easily available stuff is Lyle's Golden Syrup. You can get it at most large grocery stores in the imported food aisle.

Preheat the oven to 350F

• 1c flour
• 1c finely shredded coconut
• 1c rolled oats (large flake, not quick cooking)
• 3/4c sugar
• 1/4c Golden Syrup
• 125g butter
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbs boiling water

Put the flour, oats, sugar, coconut in a bowl and mix well. Melt butter and syrup on the stovetop. Mix the baking soda and boiling water in one of the measuring cups and then tip into the butter mixture - it will froth us a bit. Now pour this buttery deliciousness into the flour stuff and mix. Drop tablespoon-fulls of this onto lined trays (leave a good inch in between) and bake for about 12-15 mins. They will be golden - don't let them burn around the edges. Cool for 5 mins on the trays and then transfer to a rack and try not the eat them.

Freeform Gingerbread Men

Who doesn't love kids' drawings? When I was a kid my Mum and I would make these freeform Gingerbread Men that look just like a cookie version of a drawing! Incidentally, in Australia we do ginger-related baking all year round, not just at Christmas. So today Eleanor and I decided to give it a go. Here's how:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (125g) butter
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large eggs
• 1/2 cup dark molasses

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sift dry ingredients together. Melt butter and molasses together then add to dry ingredients along with the egg. Mix with a wooden spoon and then get your hands in there to finish off. You might need to adjust the consistency by adding more flour or a little milk. it should be the consistency of play dough.

Now, depending on the age of you kid/s you can help them make the men. Eleanor is 2.5 so I broke off the pieces of each body part (head, body, arms, legs) and told her to roll them into balls or sausages. She then joined them together by pressing them onto the lined cookie sheet. We then used some raisins for eyes. You can use other dried fruits for buttons and other details if you like.

Bake them for about 10-11 mins, depending on what thick they are. When they start to get darker brown around the edges, they are ready.

And then eat. Mmmmmm.

The Yummiest Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is another recipe that came from a loose paper somewhere; jotted down and changed several times. I borrowed the paper from my mom when I was in university but sadly I lost the original, so I have spent years trying to replicate it by adapting similar cookies on the internet. I love these cookies because they have a hearty, chewy, nutty flavor without actually having a single nut in the recipe (key when you have a child with allergies). Hands down these remain my favorite cookies (although my husband can make a few that rival them), because they retain their chewyness after they are cooled down:

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup of salted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups oats (quick is fine)
3/4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks
1/2 cup sweetened coconut (the most important ingredient in my opinion)
 Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl.
In another bowl, beat together butter and 2 sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla.
Add dry mixture to butter mixture slowly, then mix in oats, coconut and chocolate.
On an un-greased cookie sheet, scoop out cookies about an inch in diameter.
Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Transfer to cookie racks to cool.
Serve with milk!