Australia Day was celebrated on Saturday. It is difficult to distinguish a unique dish native to Australia as the cuisine is influenced by many countries, but the emphasis has to be on simple, fresh ingredients.

I have chosen a recipe for ANZAC Biscuits, which I first made whilst cooking for a family in Queensland. They are a snack food, most commonly made from the primary ingredients of rolled oats, coconut and golden syrup.

Many myths surround the origin of the ANZAC Biscuits. They were made by Australian and New Zealand women for the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) soldiers during World War I and were reputedly first called "Soldiers' Biscuits", then renamed "ANZAC Biscuits" after the Gallipoli landing.

ANZAC Day is commemorated by Australia and New Zealand on April 25.

The oatmeal or rolled oats biscuits were developed in the Scottish-influenced city of Dunedin, in New Zealand, as a variation of Scottish oat cakes.

The recipe was reportedly created to ensure the biscuits would keep well during naval transportation to loved ones who were fighting overseas. ANZAC Biscuits can still, to this day, be found in Australian military ration packs and are also carried by bush-bashers (bushwalkers) as a food of last resort; these biscuits survive many days of rough travel due to their tough constitution and good keeping properties.

ANZAC Biscuits

Ingredients (makes 15-20) 125g butter 1 tbsp golden syrup 2 tbsp hot water 175g caster sugar tsp bicarbonate of soda 250g desiccated coconut 250g plain flour 250g rolled oats

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 175 C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

2 Put the butter, syrup, water and sugar together in a large pan over a moderate heat. When the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved, remove from the heat. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda.

3 Mix in the remaining ingredients. Roll into balls, place onto the prepared tray (spacing them out) and flatten slightly.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Then remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling wire. They will still be a little soft when you remove them from the oven, but they should go crunchy on cooling.