How was the original Anzac biscuit made? The biscuit, that is, not the soldier!

If you go to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and hunt around in the research centre you'll find it described as an army biscuit (or Anzac wafer or Anzac tile). This version was a hardtack (or long shelf-life like) biscuit used as a substitute for bread. It was made with flour, sugar, milk powder, salt and water. Rolled oats, coconut and golden syrup are all absent.

Unlike bread, however, the biscuits are very, very hard. Some soldiers found them more palatable if they ground them up and used them as porridge. A recipe supplied courtesy of Frank Townsend, former chief chemist at Arnotts Biscuits, points out that after rolling and pressing and cutting into squares, the biscuits were "docked" with a flat-ended pin or rod.

"Each biscuit should have five vertical and five horizontal rows of docker holes, 25 holes in all," says Townsend. "There are those at the War Memorial who argue for 49 holes (7 x 7) as the authentic number".

Looking at the illustration which accompanied the recipe he sent me, they remind me in some ways of Vita Weats. They certainly don't look like the Anzac biscuits I bake at home! Another recipe, provided by Bob Lawson, an Anzac present at the Gallipoli landing, gives a more popular version and includes rolled oats, coconut and golden syrup. In "One Continuous Picnic", Michael Symons says that this version was in the recipe books by 1925.

Certainly there are countless variations (a 1945 version is kneaded like bread and called parkin or cocky's joy) and some have suggested it was an adaptation of traditional Yorkshire biscuits called parkin.

Here is my favourite version - great for morning or afternoon tea and just the thing to add to the children's lunch box.

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Anzac Biscuits

Are Anzac biscuits unique to Australia? How will we ever know? But along with pavlova and lamingtons, we lay claim to them, even if they are based on borrowed ideas.

125g butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 teaspoon bi-carbonate soda
200g (1 cup)sugar
125g (1 cup) plain flour
90g (1 cup) rolled oats
90g (1 cup) coconut

Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Grease a couple of baking trays or line them with non-stick baking paper.

Melt the butter in a small pan, add the syrup, water and soda - it will bubble up. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Pour the butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well to combine.

Dollop spoonfuls of the mixture, about 4cm apart, on a greased baking tray, flattening them slightly. Bake for about 20 minutes. Makes about 20 biscuits.

Tip: Use shredded or flaked coconut for a biscuit with more texture.