JCG

I baked these Anzac biscuits to bring a hint of Australia Day into my London workplace. Australia Day holds a strange identity. Many Aussies around the globe are seen to puff out their chest at belonging to the ‘lucky country’. But the history of this day holds a different sentiment – white man arriving to colonise what already belonged to the Aboriginal people.

Many Australians are embarrassed and sorry for what happened to so many Aboriginal communities, and therefore don’t feel they can celebrate Australia Day with open minds and hearts. It’s a sad conclusion, because every nation deserves the opportunity to accept its past and celebrate life as its current people know it. We can’t be forever ashamed of our heritage when we took no personal part in it. We need to acknowledge it, educate ourselves and our children about it, and then get on with things. After all, of the millions of Australians drinking beer at barbecues or eating lamingtons and Vegemite sandwiches in the sun, how many are actually raising a glass to white settlement? They are, instead, celebrating the fabulous country they are lucky enough to inhabit. They are celebrating what’s good about being Australian – the lifestyle, the sunshine, the landscape, having a drink with your mates.

So, when I donned green and gold at work this Australia Day, and baked Anzac biscuits for my British colleagues, I was celebrating my memories of home and all my friends and family who were having fun together, listening to the Triple J Hottest 100, playing cricket in the park and wrapping a tomato sauce-doused sausage in fluffy white bread.

These deliciously sweet and chewy Anzac biscuits  – that were sent to Australian and New Zealand soldiers for energy during the war – are a nice reminder of home, and an appropriate treat for the day.

Ingredients – makes approx. 40 small biscuits

¾ cup flour

1 cup rolled oats

¾ cup desiccated coconut

¾ cup brown sugar

130g butter

2 tbsp golden syrup

1tsp bicarbonate soda

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 160°C.

Combine the flour, oats, coconut and brown sugar in a mixing bowl.

Place the butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan over low heat with two tablespoons of water. When melted, add the bicarbonate soda and stir to combine.

Pour the warm, wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Roll the mixture into small balls (approximately 3cm in diameter) and place on a lined baking sheet. Flatten slightly with a fork, and place in the oven.

Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden in colour.