On the giving end:
After much consideration, anzacs rose to the top as my choice for the cookie swap. First of all, the cookies are durable so I knew they would travel well. The last type of cookie you want to mail is a delicate lacey or curled waffle cookie that will crumble to bits in transit. Second, the flavor in anzacs gets better over time so they would still have life in them for a week or so after their arrival. Most importantly, these cookies remind me of when I used to make them with an old friend on autumn afternoons and the joy the time baking together brought us. Her mother is from Australia and gave us the recipe, an Aussie-favorite with its roots in the Australian New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), established during WWI. The cookies are made of flour, oats, sugar, butter, desiccated coconut (flakes), baking soda, and water, but the star of the recipe is the golden syrup, which I found in a specialty store, but can also be found online here. You may have noticed these cookies do not contain eggs or milk, as both were expensive and difficult to come by during the war and without them the cookies stayed fresh longer, making them more suitable for sending to troops abroad.
After significant research, I decided to use this anzac biscuit recipe from an Australian food blog called Exclusively Food with a few adaptations on my end. I altered the recipe slightly with the addition of spelt flour (to add a nutty flavor as well as a whole grain) and I swapped dark brown sugar for the white sugar in order to create a richer flavor and more chew. The recipe did not specify if the coconut should be sweetened or unsweetened so I opted for the unsweetened so as not to take away from the dark brown sugar flavor I was trying to highlight.
While I chose this recipe because it was authentic, it presented some challenges as the measurements were in grams and Australian tablespoons. Measuring in grams was not a problem with a food scale (which I highly recommend) and although the recipe I used included US metrics, I tested them to ensure their accuracy. It was a little trickier with the tablespoon measure because the Australian tbsp. is 20mL while the US tbsp. is only 14.79mL or roughly 4 teaspoons. Interestingly enough, the Australian and US teaspoons are both 5mL so no problems there.
I packaged them in these decorative treat boxes from the Martha Stewart Crafts collection. Each box holds six cookies and the kit included red tissue paper to place between each cookie, ribbon to tie up the box, and a sticker label. There are multiple sizes in the collection, which found their way into my shopping cart as well. They are just too adorable to leave behind and I figured the odds were high I’d be doing more holiday baking. I highly recommend these kits for packaging up your baked goods as gifts.
On the receiving end:
As I imagine most participants were anxiously awaiting the arrival of their cookies so when the first package of cookies arrived at my doorstep I was thrilled. Majorie of …that’s the way the cookie crumbles… sent me macroonis, her grandmother’s recipe, which in her words is a combination of coconut, chocolate and orangey bliss. I can attest to the accuracy of her description! Their flavor reminded me of the chocolate oranges Santa would sometimes put in my stocking. There is something about the combination of chocolate and orange that reminds me of Christmas (…just now realizing it may be the Santa-stocking connection…) and the addition of coconut was delightful. Thank you, Majorie! These cookies were gobbled up so quickly I forgot to take a picture. Whoops!
A few days later my second package came from Kelly at The Pink Apron. Kelly did an excellent job with her presentation. She made a box label with the cookie swap logo and her cookies were packaged in a festive red display box. Her cookies were wonderful, too! She made candy cane blossoms – a sugar cookie base with peppermint extract topped with a white chocolate peppermint Hersey’s kiss. They paired perfectly with a cup of hot chocolate. Thanks, Kelly!
My third package has yet to arrive, but I am hoping to receive it this week. I will add a follow-up post once I receive them.
All in all, I consider the cookie swap a success. I had loads of fun researching the best cookie for the job as well as packaging them with care for their recipients. The cookies I received had minimal breakage (thanks to careful packaging) and I enjoyed sharing the cookies and the story of how I came to receive them with friends. Lindsay and Julie (the lovely organizers of this event) have already decided the tradition must continue and I will most definitely participate again next year. If you’d like to know more about the swap and are interested in participating next year, you can sign up here to receive notifications.
Anzac Cookies
Adapted from Exclusivley Food Blog
8 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter (I recommend organic)
3 tablespoons golden syrup (Lyle’s is the go-to brand)
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
½ cup white flour
½ cup spelt flour
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon boiling water
½ teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 320 degrees. Line baking tray with parchment paper (or use a baking stone as I did).
Over low heat, combine butter and golden syrup in small saucepan and let butter melt and incorporate into the syrup, stirring occasionally. Combine oats, coconut, white flour, spelt flour, and dark brown sugar in a large bowl.
When butter has melted and incorporated into the syrup, combine soda and boiling water in a small bowl and stir into butter and golden syrup mixture. Pour wet ingredients into a large bowl of dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
Roll tablespoon-sized balls and place one inch apart on a baking tray. Use a fork to flatten the ball slightly.
Bake for 12 minutes for chewy cookies (recipe suggests 16-19 minutes, but I found 12 minutes was the perfect amount of time for the desired texture). You can bake longer if you prefer a crisper cookie. Cool cookies on wire racks. Cookies will last two weeks or longer in an air-tight container or stick some in the freezer to enjoy for months to come.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Let me be the first to comment that these cookies were amazing!!!!
I completely agree with Tiffany
You did a great job dealing with the Australian measurements, because they tasted so good! And I loved that they were not too sweet — that made them perfect for snacking!
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