Fruity Choc Oat Cookies

The Anzac would be the go to biscuit in my repertoire and is often found in my biscuit jar. A visiting friend, who seemed to e happily munching, wondered if I could make Anzacs less 'oaty'. Further discussion ensued and what she didn't like was the texture of the oats. I am always happy to play around with a recipe. For this version I substituted some oat bran for the oats, added some fruit and a little cocoa for a mild chocolate flavour. My next batch will be made with all oat bran.

 Another variation, glacé orange. Same recipe but without the cocoa. 

Fruity Choc Oat Cookies

125 g butter 2 tablespoons golden syrup 2 tablespoons water 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda 1 tablespoon cocoa for a light chocolate flavour or 2 for a more intense flavour. Optional Chocolate for decoration or dipping

1 cup sugar 1 cup flour 1/2 cup rolled oats* 1/2 cup oat bran* 1/2 cup coconut 1 cup sultanas/currants/combination of both  *Or use 1 cup rolled oats

Method

Put butter, golden syrup and water in a large saucepan and put on low heat to melt.

Add bicarbonate of soda, the mixture should start to foam

Add sugar, cocoa, oats, flour, coconut and fruit. Mix well. Allow mixture to cool

Place spoonfuls of mixture or roll mixture into small balls and place onto greased tray or use baking paper. If balls of mixture flatten slightly with your fingers as you put them on the tray. Allow room for cookies to spread.

Bake 150 deg C for approx 15 minutes or until golden brown. If you like the biscuits to be chewy rather than hard remove a little sooner.

Optional but a nice touch of luxury

Melt some chocolate and spread over the base of each cookie or dip half the cookie in the melted chocolate. Alternatively, melt the chocolate and use to pipe over the top of each cookie.