We honeymooned in New Zealand and it was one of the most magical and memorable trips we’ve ever taken. So many fond memories came back with us from that journey; one of which being the exceptional taste of Anzac biscuits. Of course, we’d never tried them before, but during our holiday, we had different versions of them almost everywhere we went, and loved them each time. I think we first had them on a train ride from the lunch car on our way across the South Island. It was cold and gloomy and the biscuit made such a sweet companion with a hot cup of tea and coffee. After that, we encountered them everywhere and couldn’t stop looking for them. How to describe them: they’re chewy and crispy, buttery and molassasy, with a tender bite from whole oats, and the surprise of the nuttiness from desiccated coconut, rounds out the entire cookie so delightfully. A truly unforgettable flavor and texture combination.
After we came back home, I looked up recipes and found out they all used something called golden syrup, apparently very common in British baking, but not to be found at regular grocery stores around here. This, of course, led me to look for it on Amazon, and unsurprisingly I found it and added it to my wishlist. It sat there for a while (years), for some reason, and I never did order it or make the biscuits. We still spoke of them reminiscing and I kept promising to make them. I only just got around to whipping up a batch recently, when I happened to find golden syrup while browsing the shelves at World Market. This time I had no excuse not to make them. And I’m so glad I did, because not only did we get to relive that nostalgic taste and happy honeymoon memories, we finally got to share that flavor experience with others who had heard so much about these foreign biscuits. Now they finally understood what all the fuss was about, some even claiming these were their favorite cookies I’ve made. Yes, we called them cookies. No matter what you call them or where you eat them, they’re a wonderfully different treat from the typical cookies we’re used to.