Low Sodium Oaty Anzacs

 

I love Oatcakes and also the same goes for Anzac Biscuits. This is a recipe that combines them. They are also low sodium (meaning no added salt and using unsalted or no salt added ingredients) to meet my current dietary requirements. I would suggest you do your own nutritional calculation to see if this meets your needs. They are not very sweet and if you like them sweeter, you can bump up the sugar and golden syrup to 1/4 cup each. Unsalted butter and lard can be used or just lard alone.  I prefer to use Lyles Golden syrup but have also used Maple syrup. After the first bake, they come out crisp enough for most people but I like them dry, crispy and crunchy so I let them cool for about 20 minutes then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees F and let them "soak" in the low heat for another 30 minutes, like you would do biscotti or rusks. 

Some variations I would do if I were not on dietary restrictions would be to dip these in salted caramel or dark chocolate......

2 cups oats (grind 3/4 cup of this in a food processor to make a coarse flour)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup brown rice flour (optional or just use 1 cup all purpose flour and omit the brown rice flour)

1/2 cup lard (can use ¼ cup unsalted butter and ¼ cup shortening)

1/8 tsp low sodium baking powder

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon allspice

3 rounded tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons golden syrup or maple syrup (or a mixture of both)

¼ cup unsweetened 100 % apple juice

 

1.   Mix oats (including the ground portion), sugar, baking powder and flour together in a mixing bowl.

2.   Rub butter and lard into that (using a dough hook on a standing mixer makes it easier)

3.   Mix syrup, apple juice, and put in the microwave or saucepan to bring to a boil. Add to flour and lard mixture.

4.   Mix with spoon or dough hook to form dough

5.   Let this sit for about 10 minutes then form into a dough ball.

6.   Separate into 12 large walnut sized balls and roll out each to ¼ inch thick on a floured surface. Use a lifter to place on a parchment lined cookie sheet

7.   Bake at 375 degrees F 10-12 minutes. Check after 10 minutes as they burn easily. Remove from oven, cool and store in an airtight container.