Recettes Secrètes: The Anzac Cookie

Speaking of Australian cookies... I've had this Anzac Cookie recipe kicking around for ages and finally whipped them up last night in my obsessive orange blossom haze. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - Most stories tell of these cookies (or "biscuits") being made by Australian and Kiwi women for soldiers during WWI. The simple, spoil-resistant ingredients made them easy to store and ship, also as they were then baked quite crisp (read: inedibly hard).
The recipe has surely changed much since WWI, and everyone likes theirs baked differently (thin and crisp v.s. soft and chewy). One of the signature ingredients in this Anzac cookie recipe is golden syrup - tricky to find here in the United States (shh, I substituted honey - It gives the cookies a slightly different flavor, but is delicious just the same). This recipe also includes orange zest and orange blossom water, which you might exclude for a more authentic biscuit. There are many other things you can do with the tasty Anzac dough - great as a cobbler topping, or even a tart base. Leftover cookies keep well in an air-tight container for a few days.

Anzac Cookie Recipe

1 cup flour (all-purpose or whole wheat pastry)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup fine grain natural cane sugar OR brown sugar
1 cup finely shredded non-sweetened coconut
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup butter, cut into little cubes
2 tablespoons golden syrup or honey
zest of one medium orange

1 tablespoon boiling water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon orange blossom water

Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl; flour, oats, sugars, and coconut. Mix well.
In a small saucepan over low heat combine the butter syrup (or honey), and orange zest. Stir until melted and remove from heat. In a small bowl whisk together the boiling water and baking soda. Stir it into the butter. Now pour the butter mixture over the big bowl of oats and stir. Add the orange blossom water and stir again. This is a dough I like to mix it with my hands to make sure the butter is evenly distributed and the dough is moist throughout. I baked this batch of cookies in a well-buttered, heart-shaped cast iron pan, but you can simply drop them by the tablespoonful onto parchment lined baking sheets. Make sure they aren't too flat or they will get crispy. Bake for about 12 minutes or until deeply golden.
Makes 18 - 24 medium cookies.