The idea for this Giant ANZAC Biscuit started when I was watching Nadiya Hussain’s series ‘Time to Eat’ on Netflix a couple of months ago.
Nadiya made a massive cookie in a pan on the stove, and it got me thinking about what other biscuit recipes could be cooked this way. I soon thought of the humble ANZAC biscuit as the butter already needs to be melted on the stove, and I couldn’t think of anything better than a giant ANZAC biscuit.
I had some level of trepidation making this recipe. It reminded me a lot of those times in the past where I tried to make frittata on the stove and never understood how anyone got it to actually cook through without burning the bottom. My final attempt ended up with me putting the frustrating frittata in the oven, only to accidentally try pick it up out of the oven with the hand that didn’t have an oven glove on it.
Needless to say I then sat at the sink with my burnt hand running under cold water (for a long time), picking at bits of the frittata and deciding that I would never attempt this again. I then developed a frittata recipe that only goes in the oven and my frittatas are no longer frustrating.
I had a feeling that biscuits should really just go in the oven, but Nadiya made it look so easy. My attempts however, were not so easy, and quite frankly a waste of ingredients.
I initially tried to cook it just on the stove, and once I could smell burning sugar I realised I was back in the land of the frustrating frittata. That attempt went in the bin, once it had cooled down and I had used both bicarb soda and lemon juice to clean the pan. And had the exhaust fan on long enough to get rid of the burnt sugar smell.
I decided one last attempt was in order, and started the biscuit on the stove then put it into the oven. What looked like a perfectly cooked giant biscuit was actually very raw inside.
I decided now was as good a time as any to give up on my giant stove top ANZAC idea, particularly as I had not wasted so many baking ingredients in a long time.
Luckily when I posted on my Instagram stories about my baking fail, someone kindly messaged me to say they often make giant ANZAC biscuits, and bake them in a tart tin. This excellent idea led me to think that a cake tin could also do the job, and just like a frittata, ANZAC biscuits, regular sized or giant, should be cooked in the oven (obviously…).
So here is my third and final attempt at a Giant ANZAC Biscuit, baked in a springform cake tin. And cooked in the oven, as all biscuits/cookies should be. Nadiya’s perfect stovetop cookie will probably always allude me like a frittata cooked perfectly on the stove, but nevertheless I can now eat both frittata and giant biscuits without the fear of excessive burns (to the food and myself), so I’d call that a win.
Giant ANZAC Biscuit
Ingredients:
80g rolled oats (not instant oats)
150g plain flour
215g caster sugar
65g coconut
1 tbsp golden syrup
110 g unsalted butter
1 tsp bi-carb soda
2 tbsp warm water
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius and grease and line a 23-24cm springform cake tin.
Mix the oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a large bowl. Melt the golden syrup and butter on a medium-low heat, then mix the bi-carb soda and warm water together and add to the butter. The butter mixture should froth a little.
Take the butter mixture off the heat and add to the dry ingredients and mix together.
Tip the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth out so it reaches the edges and sits evenly.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is nicely golden.
Undo the springform tin, leaving the biscuit to cool on the cake tin base, on top of a wire rack.
Once completely cooled, remove the biscuit from the cake tin base and cut into pieces to eat.
Store in an airtight container.
