I love ANZAC biscuits and I was dreading missing out on them. Because, really, how can you make them without golden syrup? But I saw that Sweet Poison had done it, and fellow blogger Kylie from Octavia and Vicky even made a fructose free ANZAC slice without it. The trick is to replace the golden syrup with glucose or rice malt syrup.
My favourite recipe is from the good old Edmonds’ Cook Book from New Zealand. I’ve got it scribbled down on a piece of writing paper I’ve held on to for the longest time! So I just did some substitutions and a bit of freestyling when I realised I didn’t have enough coconut!
My Sugar Free ANZAC Biscuits Recipe
This recipe makes 15 nice thin biscuits that are the perfect mix of crunchy and chewy!
Ingredients
- 100g of butter
- 1 T rice malt syrup
- 1/2 cup dextrose
- 1/4 cup coconut + 1/2 cup almond meal (because I ran out of coconut!)
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 3/4 cup of plain flour
- 1 t baking soda
- 1 T hot water
Directions
- Gently melt the butter and rice malt syrup and leave to cool
- Mix together dextrose, coconut, almond meal, rolled oats and flour.
- Stir melted butter and syrup mix into the dry
- Dissolve baking soda in the boiling water and add to butter and rice malt syrup.
- Stir butter mixture into dry ingredients
- Roll generous teaspoonfuls into balls and flatten them onto a greased tray
- Bake at 180 deg C for 15 minutes
Makes 15
5 Tips for not stuffing it up!
- Really be sure to heat the butter and syrup gently, don’t burn it
- Don’t add baking soda until the butter mix has cooled or it will froth over!
- The mixture will seem quite crumbly but it binds together well
- I flatten the balls for a thinner biscuit, but allow room, they spread!
- It’s a great recipe to let little helpers involved. CrashGirl loved smushing the balls of mixture ;)
These biscuits taste great! I’ve been sugar free since ‘I Quit Sugar’ in January. I find them sweet even though they only have 1/2 c dextrose and 1 tablespoon rice malt syrup. You can buy dextrose from the home brewing supplies shelf in the kitchen section of Big W. I bought the Rice Malt Syrup at Coles in the health food aisle.
* UPDATE: In the interests of full disclosure I’ve just been informed that dessicated coconut has fructose in it. However there is only .5g per 100g. So not a lot really in the recipe, in fact 0.008g of fructose per biscuit. You can read more about fructose content of foods on the Food Standards ANZ site.
Do you love ANZAC biscuits?
Laney x
They look awesome Laney :) Yum Yum!
Liz@LastChanceTraining’s last post..How I use protein powder and Blackmores Sports Giveaway
There were very good Liz. Will be making some more today ;)
Mmm love ANZAC biscuits! Don’t think they are easily found here so guess I’ve to make them at home when I can :p
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Did you make some Ai? I need to make more. Ours are all gone!
I’m impressed!
Out of interest, why did you decide to go sugar-free but not carbohydrate-free? I have been reading a lot lately about these issues, and I’m finding it very confusing. It seems as though advocates of (for example) the Paleo diet are saying that all kinds of sugar are bad for you, including the more complex sugar molecules in flour etc. However, I’ve noticed that you seem to be avoiding table sugar (sucrose/fructose) specifically, but not more complex carbs, and no doubt there are very good reasons for this. What websites would you recommend for more information? Thanks in advance!
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I can’t recommend any good sources, but I can tell you that the book “Sweet Poison” is written by a lawyer, not a nutritionist, and he misquotes scientific research like nobody’s business. He’s made a lot of nutritionists very annoyed. Take any claims in that book seriously ONLY if you can find another more reliable source to back them up.
Some irate nutritionists even made an extensive list of his errors: http://www.skeptics.com.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Response-to-David-Gillespie-on-behalf-of-Nut-Net.pdf
Yes you are correct, Sweet Poison was written by a lawyer, who has indeed annoyed many nutritionists. I don’t think it’s fair to say he misquotes like ‘nobody’s business’. I invite differing points of view and think everyone should do their own research. The first thing I did before I started the program was to look for articles that de-bunked the theories and came across the same one you have linked to. Like I said, everyone needs to decide for themselves and it is good to get both sides of the debate.
Hi Katriina. I’m not carbohydrate-free because I need them for energy, as do most people I would imagine! I decided to crash test Sarah Wilson’s I Quit Sugar program because I was experiencing many of the symptoms she was able to eliminate by reducing fructose in her diet. Sure, all kinds of sugar include calories, as does any food you eat, it is more about how your body processes fructose specifically that interests me. Skeptics aside, the results I have experienced support the basic premise for quitting sugar (fructose). Eating table sugar makes you hungrier. After quitting sugar I have complete control of my appetite. I eat a higher proportion of fresh, whole foods (carbs and fat included), I’m never ‘starving’ and I don’t get tempted to binge. I allow myself a few pieces of chocolate every now and then and don’t feel like I need to eat the whole block. Seems like a pretty balanced approach to me. Oh, and I’ve lost 6kg since the beginning of January, mostly the fat from around my middle. I think the approach in IQS and Sweet Poison are quite logical.
Thanks very much for the clarification! I will read more about IQS. I’ve always thought that eating whole, low-GI foods is a good goal, and it sounds as if IQS sits well with that. Having said that, I don’t know if I have the dedication to give up sugar altogether! – but kudos to you for sticking to your guns, and congratulations on the health benefits you’re experiencing as a result!
Katriina’s last post..Fear
Love them Laney.
@Charlie, why would you say that here? I am a Sweet Poison convert, as are many here, and found what he said logical. I’m sure some nutritionists disagree, he challenges their entire profession, not to mention those who continue to poison us in order to continue profiting from this addictive substance.
Thanks Sally. I’m happy for people to offer differing views, so long as they are respectful.
Apologies, I may have been a little enthusiastic in my comment. I have many friends who follow the fructose-free or -limited lifestyle and love it, and I am aware there is a significant body of peer-reviewed research as a basis for these choices. I simply wished to point out to people seeking information that that book is not the be-all and end-all. As a scientist, misquoted research is a pet hate of mine, hence the rather vehement phrasing. Apologies again for any offence given.
Those ANZAC biscuits do sound absolutely delicious, Laney.
@Charlie, I may have been a little too defensive with my comment :).
I have come across many negative comments and opinions about this lifestyle from people and when I read yet another pessimistic comment my defences went up. I know the lifestyle works for me, and quite honestly don’t trust the “nutritionists’ anymore. Who is to say they are right in the first place?
Ditto to that Sally, different strokes for different folks :-)
Hi there! I really love ANZAC biscuits (except I’m from the other side of the Tasman haha) and I was wondering what you could substitute rice malt syrup for? I’ve never even heard of it before and I’m not sure you can get it in NZ :-/ Does it go by any other name?
Cheers xo
In from your side of the Tasman too ;). You can use glucose syrup. Look in the baking aisle at the supermarket. Good luck!
Yum yum! Thanks for the shout out :)
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Thanks for the recipe, I needed something for my daughters lunch box as I just started sugar free after reading Sweet Poison, now having to break it to my 9yo daughter that the pantry is getting a makeover.
I googled for a sugarless recipe and yours came up. I went on a bit of a wild goose chase for the dextrose but I finally found it. Made them this morning and they taste delicious. Thank you. Also, can stevia be used instead of dextrose in this recipe?
Hi Karla, yes you can definitely use Stevia or a new alternative called Norbu (made from monkfruit). I used Norbu for mine this week and they were delicious.