Biscuits, Treacle and Lions

Sandy

April 25th was ANZAC day and Amanda shared her recipe for the famous Anzac cookies biscuits.  I can’t call them cookies. They’re call biscuits Down Under.

According to this Austrailian news article, the Federal Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) has very strict rules about using the name Anzac

“The word Anzac, which stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps that served in World War I, is a protected word which cannot just be used by anyone.

According to DVA guidelines, applications to produce Anzac biscuits commercially are “normally approved provided the product generally conforms to the traditional recipe and shape, and are referred to as ‘Anzac biscuits’ or ‘Anzac Slice’”.

“Referring to these products as ‘Anzac Cookies’ is generally not approved, due to the non-Australian overtones,” the guidelines state.”

Furthermore, misusing the word could result in a $10,200 fine and 12 months in prison!

Gosh.

Not a cookie, then.

Whatever you call them, they are delicious.  I followed Amanda’s recipe with a few substitutions. Cinnamon instead of ginger. Corn syrup instead of Golden syrup because that’s what I had.

Golden syrup is not easily found in Canada.  It is commonly used in British and Australian baking,  a by-product of sugar making and  also known as light treacle.

Treacle is another mystery product to me. As a child, I’d read about treacle and golden syrup in Enid Blyton stories, but I’d never actually tasted them. Am I showing my age by mentioning Enid Blyton? They were re-prints, I swear!

Here’s another interesting side note. The most famous brand of Golden syrup is Lyle’s Golden Syrup which has an iconic green and gold label with a lion in its logo. The lion looks like it’s sleeping.  Look closer and you’ll see it’s actually dead with a swarm of bees flying around it’s rotting carcass.  An intriguing choice for marketing, don’t you think? According to Lyle’s website, the logo was due to the founder, Abram Lyle who …

” … had strong religious beliefs, which is why the tin’s famous logo depicts strongman Samson’s ‘lion and bees’ from the Bible’s Old Testament, registered as Lyle’s trademark. ‘Out of the strong came forth sweetness’, as the quote goes; where bees produce honey inside the lion’s carcass, rich syrup pours from the well-loved tin… “

Hmm. But back to the cookies biscuits.

It’s probably the easiest cookie I’ve ever made.  I admit though, I was skeptical when I first mixed it up. It was very crumbly, barely holding together in the cookie balls.  It looked more like a crumble topping  than a cookie dough.

As I put the first cookie sheet in the oven, I was already making backup plans to use the  leftovers in an apple crumble pie.  Amazingly though, the cookies held together, baking into a toffee flavored, crunchy cookie rich with toasty oats and coconut.

Anzac cookie 1x1

It was really good, very sweet and perfect with a strong cup of coffee.   If you’d like to make a batch, check out Amanda’s recipe here.  Thanks Amanda!

Toronto, Canada. April 2020

8 Comments

    1. The funny thing is … not so many Aussies in this part of the world. Any time I hear what I think is an Aussie accent, they turn out to be South African or New Zealander. I think all the Aussies went to LA and became movie stars.

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  2. Hey! They look fantastic! I totally understand your scepticism in making them. They never look like they are going to work and then at the last minute they expand outward and turn golden brown. The corn syrup substitute might result in a lighter coloured cookie, although I cannot say as I have never used corn syrup, ever. I am now going to try making some with maple syrup just to experiment.
    You are a better cook than me! Your biscuits are perfectly round. My are never perfectly shaped! Well done, Sandy!
    I learnt two more things from your post – I didn’t know the word Anzac was trademark protected, nor about the fine if you breach it. I doubt it would ever come to pass unless a commercial operation to make ANZAC biscuits started selling them here.
    Also intriguing is the lion insignia. Although I don’t buy the Lyle brand – I see it all the time in my supermarket and have never looked closely at the logo. It seems that time has passed by and noone dared to suggest the company update their logo.

    I

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