Originally, I was thinking about making these No Sugar Oat Drops, but it being the holidays I decided they were maybe a little too close to a granola bar…a little too healthy (yes, I’m crazy). I even bought the overripe bananas at the grocery in anticipation of making them, but then settled on a batch of Anzac biscuits.
Anzac biscuits are a brilliant invention all their own. Coconut, oats, brown sugar, butter, Lyle’s Golden Syrup and a little baking soda and water. What’s not to like? But since the holidays are all about gilding the lily, I thought I’d dress ’em up a little. By altering the recipe, it’s not strictly an Anzac biscuit anymore, but it’s an oaty, coconutty drop of delicious, that’s for sure, and with a couple of additional tweaks, it just gets better. So coconut, oats…plus what?
My answer was crystallized ginger and chocolate chips. I didn’t want to out-and-out ginger the thing, I just wanted that little kick when you bite into a chunk of ginger. In adapting Bill Granger’s original recipe, I also used whole wheat pastry flour and cut the brown sugar in half, since I was using sweetened coconut.
Incidentally, the second cookie in the picture up top is sans chocolate chips on purpose…I wanted a few with just ginger, just for me. :)
Preheat oven to 315F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, oats, coconut, ginger and brown sugar.
In a small sauce pan, melt butter and golden syrup over low heat. In a small bowl, mix together baking soda and water. Add baking soda mixture to butter. It'll foam up a bit. Stir wet ingredients into dry until completely combined. Give the mixture a minute or two to cool and mix in chocolate chips, otherwise they'll get melty.
Roll dough into balls of about 2 T., or use a small ice cream scoop and place them on the prepared baking sheet 6 at a time. Flatten with the palm of your hand or a fork. Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned. Let cool on sheets for 2-3 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.