Anzac Biscuits

Anzac Biscuits (a.k.a. Crisp Coconut Oatmeal Cookies)
recipe adapted from Lazy Cat Kitchen

makes about 22

100 g / 1 cup oats
85 g / ¾ cup (slightly heaped) desiccated coconut*
100 g / 1 cup + 1 tbsp all purpose flour*
100 g / ½ cup + 1 tbsp caster sugar*
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp water, hot
100 g / 3.5 oz vegan butter, margarine or refined coconut oil*
1 tbsp maple syrup or golden syrup*

*Notes:

100g unsweetened coconut chips, pulsed

50g white whole wheat flour + 50g AP flour

75g coconut sugar

40g coconut oil + 60g unsalted butter

maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 180° C / 355° F.
2. Put oats, desiccated coconut, flour and sugar in a medium mixing bowl and mix well.
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat (or in microwave), add maple syrup and stir until combined.
4. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 2 tbsp of hot water and add to melted butter mixture.
5. Add melted butter mixture to dry ingredients and stir gently until it is mixed well.
6. Roll mixture into balls with your hands (it should make 20 at 25 g each), flatten each ball so that you have 1 cm / 0.4″ high cookies, and place them 2 cm / 1″ apart on a paper lined baking tray.
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

I wasn't at all familiar with Anzac Biscuits nor Australia Day until I came across a couple posts on these cookies while looking for an oatmeal cookie recipe.

An Anzac biscuit is a sweet, hard tack biscuit, popular in Australia and New Zealand, made using rolled oats, flour, sugar, butter, golden syrup, baking soda, boiling water, and (optionally) desiccated coconut. Anzac biscuits have long been associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) established in World War I.
(source: Wikipedia) 

What's not to love about these biscuits from down under which are pretty much oatmeal cookies with loads of coconut chips mixed in? They turned out exactly as I have anticipated - crisp and chewy with a wonderful aroma!

I adapted the recipe to balance between wholesome and indulgent. I substituted half of the flour with white whole wheat flour and nearly half of the fat with coconut oil. I also opted for coconut sugar and maple syrup which I have readily on hand.

I added 15g more coconut chips unintentionally and forgot that the recipe called for desiccated coconut. I only briefly pulsed my coconut chips which resulted in larger pieces mixed into the batter. The dough was a bit crumbly and took some time to form into balls, but nonetheless turned out delicioso!

Taste: 4 stars out of 5
Fragrant, buttery and rich!
Texture: 4 stars out of 5
Crisp with loads of oatmeal and coconut chips which added some chew!

Greek Yogurt Banana Oat Bread

Banana bread for the bae!

This soft and tender loaf does not need butter, oil, or refined sugar! I threw in some fresh blueberries along with chopped pecans because I am never a purist when it comes to banana bread or home baked goods in general.. just make sure you don't go overboard so you can have a tasty personalized treat- the best imo!

Greek Yogurt Banana Oat Bread
recipe adapted from Running with Spoons
makes one loaf (12 slices)

2 large eggs
1/2 cup (115 g) plain 2% Greek yogurt
2 medium-size, ripe bananas, mashed (200 g or 1 cup)
4 Tbsp (60 ml) maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup (60 g) quick oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cup (150 g) white whole wheat flour 

Optional:
more sweet? add total of 6 Tbsp (90ml) maple syrup + 1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
add-ins? 1/2 cup chocolate chips/dried fruit/nuts/etc.

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF (176ºC), and lightly grease a 9 x 5 (23cm x 13cm) bread pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs until the yolks break apart. Whisk in the yogurt, bananas, maple syrup, sugar (if using), and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
3. Stir in the oats, baking soda, and cinnamon. Finally, spoon in the flour and gently stir it in until just combined. If you're adding any mix-ins, fold them in now.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, spreading it out evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Taste: 4 stars out of 5

Mildly sweetened; subtle banana taste

Texture: 4 stars out of 5

Not as soft and fluffy as AP flour banana bread but more hearty and dense due to white whole wheat flour. Oats added a good chewy bite!

Banana Bread Granola

My baking routine has been disrupted or paused for a little while now ever since my diet was turned upside down during our trip in New Orleans late February. 

A simple Greek yogurt banana bread and a unique banana bread granola are slowly easing me back into the game. 

With no oil and refined sugar, the banana bread was a little dense for my liking. But these banana bread granola thooooo.. These are great in my yogurt parfait and even just as a snack on their own. 

I love how the sweetness mask the not so pleasant Greek yogurt flavor (:

Banana Bread Granola
recipe adapted from Minimalist Baker
makes about 7 cups

240g old fashioned rolled oats
95g walnuts
40g pecans
25g sunflower seeds
38g coconut chips, unsweetened
1 Tbsp (10g) organic coconut palm sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon, ground
1 Tbsp flax seeds, ground
1 tsp chia seeds 

52g coconut oil, melted
100g maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 medium ripe banana, mashed  (~1/2 cup)

1. DRY: In large bowl, combine oats, nuts, seeds, coconut chips, sugar, sea salt, and cinnamon.
2. WET: In pot over low heat, combine oil, syrup, and vanilla and warm till liquid state.
3. WHISK: Whisk mashed banana into wet ingredients.
4. COMBINE: Pour wet ingredients into dry. Mix until evenly combined.
5. BAKE: Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, then spread granola mixture out in an even layer. Bake at 350F, gently stirring at 15 minutes, until the granola is golden-brown and dry, 30 minutes.
6. COOL: Let cool completely and transfer to jar to store. 

Dry ingredients.

All ready to combine together.

Last minute idea to throw in my leftover coconut chips.

Spread out to an even thickness layer.

Mix them up a bit to release the heat once they are done baking.

Good chunky size!

Yogurt parfait.

Granola > Greek yogurt.

Taste: 5 stars out of 5

Banana flavor was mild. Good amount of sweetness. Lovely toasty-ness from the nuts.

Texture: 4.5 stars out of 5

Not as crispy as my last granola, but nothing a little longer bake time can't fix.

Mixed Berry Oat Streusel Bar

I can't believe berries are still in season in December, and are they juicier and sweeter than the ones in Summer?!! The Fatty's mom has been too kind to stock up berries for us each weekend. There's so much left over even after our weekend fix of acai bowl (which should be more accurately named as berries bowl now). Thank you for the generosity and thank you for longer berry season! 

Happy belated Thanksgiving.

These bars are fairly simple to make as with most of my bakes. The oatmeal almond butter mixture conveniently and strategically doubles as the base and as the streusel topping, killing two birds with one stone! The mixture firmly pressed into the pan creates a hearty and dense base for the lightly sweetened mixed berry filling to lay on. The streusel along with the sliced almonds on top brings the whole thing together with its crispiness and stunning visual. 

Mixed Berry Oat Streusel Bar

recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
makes one 8x8" pan or 9-12 bars

Mixed berry filling:
2 Tbsp (15g) cornstarch
2 Tbsp (30ml) warm water
2 cups (330g) mixed berries *I used a mix of blackberries, blueberries and raspberries
less than 1/4 cup (65g) pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp chia seeds 

Oatmeal base + streusel:
2 and 1/4 cup (180g) quick oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (250g) unsalted almond butter
1/6 cup (55g) pure maple syrup
1/4 cup (60ml) coconut oil, melted
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup (50g) sliced almonds

Bring berries and maple syrup to a boil.

What you need for the oatmeal base/streusel.

Mix everything together until evenly combined.

Mixture will be wet.

Reserve 1/2 cup from streusel.

The three layers before assembly.

Spread mixed berry filling on top of firmly pressed base.

Crumble streusel/sliced almonds and lightly press into filling.

Start by making the mixed berry filling first -
1. Mix cornstarch with warm water until cornstarch has dissolved and there are no clumps. Set aside.
2. Combine berries and maple syrup together in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir well.
3. Remove from heat and stir in pre-mixed cornstarch and chia seeds.
4. Whisk until all clumps are gone and set aside to thicken and cool. 

For the base/streusel -
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line a 8x8" baking pan. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine quick oats, cinnamon, almond butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and beaten egg. Mix until all of the oats are moistened and the mixture is thoroughly combined.
3. Reserve 1/2 cup of oat mixture. Firmly press remaining oat mixture into prepared baking pan.
4. Spread mixed berry filling on top.
5. To the reserved 1/2 cup oat mixture, add sliced almonds. Crumble and light press down into berry filling.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
7. Allow to cool completely before cutting. 

*Squares stay fresh covered tightly at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
*Make ahead tip: Squares freeze well up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying.

There's no refined sugar and no butter in these bars, however, be warned that there's a good amount of almond butter along with coconut oil added to bind the oat mixture together. This brings each bar with about 21g/1.5Tbsp of almond butter to a calorie count of 310 and 32% daily value for fat! Although all ingredients used are wholesome and "good" for you, I highly suggest limiting to 1 bar per day.

If making these again, I would decrease the amount of almond butter and coconut oil added and try substituting with pureed dates. The making of these reminded me of my granola bars. 

Taste: 4 stars out of 5
Lightly sweetened and lovely tart berry filling. Oat mixture is rich and indulgent tasting.
Texture: 3.5 stars out of 5
Oat base is a dense, slightly chewy, and moist/a bit oily. Streusel could be more crispy/hard.