Wednesday 27 July 2011

Anzac Biscuit Fingers - Dipped in Dark Chocolate


Because some things just need to be done !

Anzac biscuits sound rather boring. But, when you get round to trying them you will find a delight is in store. They are full of oaty goodness and rather like a chewier version of a  thin flapjack... or bake them longer so they become harder and crispier.

"It has been claimed the biscuits were sent by wives to soldiers abroad because the ingredients do not spoil easily and the biscuits kept well during naval transportation." - source - Wikipedia

I can honestly say that I like them both ways.


This is of the new chocolate sticks moulds we now have available. They are meant for making chocolate sticks or biscuit fingers for dipping. I can imagine they would look fantastic with some chocolate transfers or decorated with sprinkles and gift wrapped !

I've already had a go at some butter biscuit fingers which worked really well... but I never did get round to blogging those photos. 

I've had another go with this mold making some anzac biscuit fingers and dipping them in chocolate. These looked really rustic. They were really rustic. I think that was part of the appeal. There is something that seduces me to nibbling a chocolate coated biscuit finger. That's how it starts. Before you know it, they are being dunked into a cup of coffee and the chocolate sucked off......


Well - they're only little, so I'll let you have another. If you take these to work, put a padlock on your biscuit tin lid. Remind your colleagues that these were MEANT to last a long time and they do NEED to be rationed. A whole handful of them disappearing at a time wasn't how I intended them to be eaten.

RECIPE
 1 cup self raising flour
1 cup of rolled oats
1 cup of grated coconut (or dessicated)
3/4 cup of caster sugar
125g salted butter
3 tbsp golden syrup (or corn syrup)

Cream butter and sugar, then add in flour. Combine these and then add the other ingredients. Mix to combine.

Roll into small balls about ping pong size and then flatten well with your hand (if you want round cookies / biscuits). These do not spread much at all - so do give them a good squish.

If you want to make fingers like these, squish (love that word !) the mixture into each cell of one of the chocolate sticks silicone bakeware moulds.

cook at 160deg C for 15mins for fingers or approx 15 > 20 mins for cookies depending how chewy / crispy you like them.

This recipe made a whole tray of straight fingers, about 8 cookies and most of a tray of zigzag cookie sticks.

After removing from the oven, allow cookies to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a rack. If you have made fingers they will have risen a little above the mould. I found that for best results, I needed to squash them down into the mould whilst still hot. Once cooled down enough to handle, remove from mould. Put them back on a baking sheet into the oven for about another 5 mins or so to harden them up a bit more. I wanted them strong enough to handle as a thin stick biscuit and yet still a bit chewy.


Oliver loved helping dip these into molten chocolate. The only difference was that his never made the rack to cool. They were eaten dipped in molten chocolate. I swear there was more on his face than went in his tummy! These certainly got his seal of approval....

Last weekend was full of excitement. My husband (Steve) has been building Oliver a sit-in racing car for the last few weeks. Oliver has seen it in various stages of being built, but had not got to see it recently until Steve finished painting it.

The big unveiling was on Saturday afternoon......


The car actually needed some adjustment at that point - it didn't drive so well as the drive kept slipping. Still good fun though and I did get some little video clips.

By Sunday, it was sorted and ready to play ! Good grief - Oliver can make that shift now he's got the hang of driving it. He puts the pedal to the metal and Steve has to really run to keep up. Hehe. Just look at the evil grin. He was really moving pretty fast in this photo.

In case you haven't noticed, this car is made up of a load of really strange things. The front is a kitchen SWING BIN. The lid part of the swing bin also forms the boot lid at the rear. The  wheel arches and the front grill are made from a LAUNDRY BASKET and it's powered by an 18v BATTERY POWER DRILL !!!! The steering wheel is for a WII CONSOLE. The windscreen surround is from an old SHOPPING BASKET. I think there is an assortment of other odd bits too...


I can't imagine things get much better for a 2.3/4 yo boy. There were tears streaming down his face he was so happy !


Incase anyone wants to see - here is the first test drive of "THE SWING BIN RACER"






11 comments:

  1. That little race car driver is so cute and he looks like he is having a wonderful time!
    I have been wanting to make Anzac biscuits for a long time, just never got around to it. These look really tasty with the chocolate and have a convenient shape. Well done!

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  2. AWWWW Sarah!...this is soooo cute. My husband and sons were watching the video and they were amazed that your husband built that! it looks so good :)))

    Oliver is adorable and he looks sooo pleased with his new toy . Im sure he wanted to bring it to bed with him. My children were like that when they were little.

    The biscuits looks good too :). i didnt know anzac biscuits had oats in them . I love oat biscuits. I must try that. The moulds are waiting to be used here.. So many I dont know where to start. :)

    Take care Sarah..hugsss

    zurin

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  3. I'm a great fan of Anzac biscuits but you seemed to have elevated it to another level by dipping them in dark chocolate AND making them even more bite-sized by making them crispy fingers!

    And I can't believe your husband did that for Oliver! He might just turn out to be the next Michael Schumacher ;p

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  4. Wow! What a fun race car your husband built for Oliver! He's a lucky little boy for sure who probably has the racing "bug" now.

    I would love to get my hands on one of those biscuits right now. They look chocolaty delicious!

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  5. Aww what a cutie! These look so good love that its dipped in dark chocolate.

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  6. Oh - your son and his new wheels are so cute! The cookie recipe has AMAZING ingredients! I love it!

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  7. oh my goodness Sarah, these would get my seal of approval too, but only after eating at least half dozen. Sound so good!!!

    Oliver is so cute, love his big smile

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  8. WOW Sarah! Thanks for making this biscuit finger! I actually have no idea what to make with this mould...now I know :)

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  9. Oh my, these pictures are absolutely adorable! I can't believe your husband actually made that racing car out of old bits and bobs! And the biscuits look delicious too :) x

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  10. Tina - anzac biscuits are seriously easy and more yummy than you can imagine. I'm glad I made most of mine into fingers. Having one (if you can stop) of these doesn't make you feel QUITE so guilty !

    Zurin - he sure likes that car. He can't get driving it again until Sunday, but the squeals of delight can be heard a fair old distance away. I've got some more videos. Will need to try and get them on to YouTube.

    Janine - there is something about skinny biscuit fingers. They HAVE to be dipped... in something - anything. lol. My husband is a car nut - he's be quite happy if Oliver is too !

    Pam - thank you. I hope you are well. That little grandson of yours is a cracker :-)

    Lindsey - Thanks. They were born to be dipped .... lol

    Ann - I just had to load the first drive video up. It really makes me laugh. Glad everyone seems to be enjoying the photos and post. I'm always worried I overdo the Oliver photos !

    Roxana - I was surprisingly good. I did take them to work though as left around the house, I'd have worked my way through the whole batch. Anzac biscuits may look boring - but they really rank right up the top in the biscuit stakes.

    Anncoo - you think ? I'd love to make some big long bobble or zigzag ice cubes ... but there is absolutely no space in my freezer.

    Beauty and the Cake - lovely of you to drop by. Can't exactly say the car was made out of old bits and bobs - unfortunately everything was new. I doubt the amount spent to make it will never be added up... But Steve had several weeks of fun making it and hopefully Oliver will have a few years of fun driving it :-)

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  11. Oliver must be the luckiest boy on the planet for having a mum who bakes him the loveliest biscuits and a dad who builds him a car from scratch. A CAR! I can see the joy on his face and hear it in your voice too as you are taking that hilarious video...so precious!

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