Anzac Biscuit Inspired Muesli

Wow! I am terrible at remembering to update my blog. Although, as I have no one reading my posts yet, I guess I suppose it doesn’t have to be updated that frequently. But still, I must persevere as I am sure one day, someone is going to want to make Anzac Biscuit style muesli and will need a recipe from somewhere.

Anzac Biscuits are in doubt one of the best cookies ever created. They’re both chewy and crunchy at the same time and have all the wonderful flavours and textures of oats, coconut and golden syrup. The best recipe for Anzac biscuits which I have come across is from Women’s Weekly.  

Anzacs are iconic Aussie foods, as are lamingtons and vegemite. I have never come across a person who has disliked Anzacs (the people who are allergic to coconut don’t count). Even the biscuits that burn or crumble in the oven or don’t make the ‘snap’ sound when broken in half still TASTE as equally delicious as a symmetrical, perfectly cooked Anzacs. 

My cousin, for one, loves Anzac Biscuits and this year for his Christmas present I wanted to make him something special in favour of his favourite biscuit. So I created Anzac inspired muesli, suitable for breakfast, snacking on or stirring through honey comb ice cream.

The usual suspects for Anzac biscuits are oats, coconut, golden syrup and butter. For those who cannot eat dairy, or are not keen on using butter, in my recipe simply replace it with an equal amount of oil, or for an extra coconut taste, use coconut oil (butter).  I have included a small amount of sugar in my recipe, this of course is optional. Though Anzacs don’t usually have brown sugar, I like a bit of extra sweetness and the sugar helps to bring this. (As well as an extra crispness, this reminds me of Anzac biscuit crumbs!)

This muesli recipe can also be doubled and mixed and matched with different styles of dried fruits, cereals and extra nuts, but if you omit the coconut, golden syrup and oats (well its very unlikely that oats would be omitted from a muesli recipe) than I don’t think it can be called Anzac Muesli. I also call for organic ingredients in this recipe; this is mainly because of flavour and because I think breakfast should be something special. Once you buy organic coconut, you are converted; the flavour is just so amazing!

Anzac Inspired Muesli

2 cups of organic oats

1 cup of organic dried coconut (I did a mix of flaked and shredded)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar (I like to use palm or muscovado)

1/4 teaspoon salt

30g organic butter (or coconut butter)

2 tablespoons golden syrup

Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C) and get a large baking tray ready, lined with baking paper ready

In a large bowl, mix the oats, coconut and salt.

In a saucepan, on low heat, melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup together until it is dark brown syrup.

Pour the warm syrup over the oat mixture and stir until everything is well coated.

Spread the muesli over the baking tray and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, stirring the mixture every 10 minutes.

Turn off the oven, leave the door slightly ajar and cover the muesli with piece of baking paper and leave it in there to dry and crisp up for about an hour.

Remove from the oven and store in an airtight container.