Recipe: Healthy vegan Anzac biscuits

It's a rainy afternoon and I have both the toddler and the baby home with me. It's too wet to go out and play, so what better way to distract them than by baking? With Anzac day approaching, I thought I'd have a go at making the traditional Anzac biscuit a bit healthier and these turned out nicely. Just the thing for a yummy afternoon snack!

Historically, Anzac biscuits were sent to soldiers during the first world war by wives concerned about the nutritional value of rations. The biscuits were designed to be as nutritionally dense as possible, and able to survive a journey of two months or so with no refrigeration. The traditional recipe uses no eggs (as poultry farmers were off fighting so eggs were scarce), but it does contain butter. My version uses neither, and I've done away with the faffing about melting ingredients - just one bowl and some mixing here!

The coconut oil makes the biscuits crispy on the outside but they're still soft in the middle - just the way I like them! I know that some people like a flat crispy biscuit, but I'm firmly in the high and soft camp, so that's how I've made them. While desiccated coconut is more traditional, I prefer the texture that the shredded coconut lends to the biscuit.

Healthy vegan Anzac biscuits
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Ingredients:

• 1 cup wholemeal flour 
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup raw sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla essense
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp water

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 150C and line two baking trays with paper
2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined
3. Form into small balls. I got 24 cookies out of this mix. Divide onto the two trays and flatten slightly, leaving room to spread
4. Bake for 25 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown
5. Transfer to a rack to cool - biscuits will harden slightly as they cool

Do you have favourite Anzac biscuit recipe?