1939 Anzac Biscuit Recipe - Glen And Friends Cooking - How To Make Anzac Biscuits - Today on the old cookbook show we'll take a look at the early history of the Anzac biscuit by looking at some Australian cookbooks from the early 1900s.
There is a long story, history, and a fair bit of mythology surrounding these biscuits and the recipe; as an outsider it was tough to separate fact from fiction. I did a lot of digging and spoke to food and military historians; as best as I can decipher, the sweet Anzac biscuit of today didn't exist until after WW1. The recipe evolved and became part of the day of remembrance in the 1920s - and my research through cookbooks from this time period seems to back this up.

The first recipe I show in the video is from the 9th edition of the 'Auburn Methodist Tested Recipes' published in 1923, and submitted by Miss Albiston. This recipe is close to what people make today, but lacks coconut and is included in the cakes section under the name 'Anzacs'. The 8th edition of this book from 1919 doesn't have any mention of Anzacs at all. This series of cookbooks had a pretty big following back in the day and went through many editions.

1923 Anzacs Recipe:
2 breakfast cups John Bull oats, ½ breakfast cup sugar, 1 scant cup plain flour, ½ cup melted butter, 1 tablespoon golden syrup, 2 tablespoon boiling water, 1 tsp carb soda. Mix butter, golden syrup and soda together, pour boiling water on, then add dry ingredients. Put on oven sheet or scone tray with teaspoon. Slow oven till browned.

The second recipe - and the one I make - comes from the 8th edition of 'The Schauer Cookery book' written by Amy Schauer in 1939. This 8th edition was published after Miss Schauer had retired from a long career of teaching cookery; she used the early years of retirement to rewrite and bring the recipes up to the standards of an ever changing world.

1939 Anzac biscuits recipe:
1 cup of flour, 1 full cup of rolled oats, ¼ lb. of butter, 1 level tsp of carb. soda, 1 dessertspoon of golden syrup, 3 tablespoons of boiling water, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of cocoanut.
Put rolled oats, sifted flour and cocoanut into a basin. Add sugar and melted butter. Dissolve syrup in hot water and stir in the soda over the bowl until it foams well. Mix through dry ingredients. Put ½ teaspoon quantities on well greased tins, leaving space between each, as they spread. Bake in a very slow oven as they burn easily.

A few tips on these recipes:
- In this time period a 'cup' in Australia and New Zealand was the equivalent of 227 mL.

- An Australian Tablespoon is the equivalent of 20 mL or 4 teaspoons; not the 15 mL or 3 teaspoons of New Zealand / Canada / USA

- I used a dessertspoon that was 10 mL or 2 teaspoons

- I cooked them in an oven heated to 300ºF for 8-12 minutes.




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