Anzac cookie with hazelnut and banana
The classic Anzac cookie is treated with a lot of respect in Australa. I just watched an episode of the Big Australian Bake Off and during the cookie challenge a few bakers dared to attempt to bake an Anzac with a twist. The results met with scorching comments from the judge. How dare the bakers mess with the Anzac! But, as I am not an Australian, I can do what I want…. In my version of the classic Anzac cookie I used hazelnuts and bananas. I just found a hazelnut patch in a park nearby and I can tell you it is a good nut year. Anyway, a girl must forage nowadays to be taken seriously by her foodie friends. I thought my find might taste good in this cookie. So I used finely chopped nuts instead of coconut and I replaced the Golden Syrup with banana and honey. I must say that I was quite happy with the result. The hazelnuts accentuate the nuttiness of the oats and the banana gives the cookie a nice chewiness. My tasters also appreciated my effort, the tin was empty in 1 day! These cookies need a little longer in the oven than the classic Anzac cookie because the bananas make the dough a bit more moist .
Anzac cookies
(for about 25 cookies)
125 grams of flour
100 grams of rolled oats
50 grams of chopped hazelnuts
175 grams of unrefined cane sugar
pinch of salt
125 grams of unsalted butter
1 banana
1 tablespoon of honey
grated rind of 1 (organic) lemon
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon hot water
about 25 banana chips
Preheat the oven to 170°C (350 °F). Mix the flour with the oats, hazelnuts, sugar and salt.
Melt the butter.
Puree the banana with the honey and the grated lemon rind. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the water and mix it with the banana and the melted butter.
Combine the butter mixture with the flour mixture and mix well. Roll balls of about 30 grams (the size of a big walnut). Press a banana chip on top of each ball of dough.
Cover a baking sheet with baking paper and place the balls about 2,5 cm (1 inch) apart. Bake them for about 15-17 min. in the middle of the oven.
Take them out of the oven and leave to cool and harden on the sheet.
This post is also available in: Dutch
