Ina bowl, mix the first five ingredients well.

Melt the butter in a pan. Take it off the heat, add the honey and stir well. Dissolve the baking soda in the water and add to the honey-butter mixture and stir well.

Now add the liquid to the ingredients in the bowl and mix well to form a firm dough. The dough will be somewhat dry compared to the average American cookie dough but you should be able to roll it into balls that hold shape. If the dough is of the correct consistency, you will be able to roll it into a smooth ball which doesn't crack when flattened.

If your dough feels sticky, add a little more flour, and if it is too dry, add just a bit of water to get the right dough consistency.

Take about a tbsp of dough and roll it into a ball about the size of a large walnut. Flatten it somewhat with your hand or the back of a fork to form a round that is not too thick or thin. The dough will not rise too much while baking.

Place the flattened biscuits on a lightly greased or parchment lined tray and bake at 170C (325F) for about 12 to 15 minutes till they look dry and brown. These biscuits tend to brown very easily (especially if you use brown sugar) so do check on them after 10 minutes of baking to ensure they don't burn.

When taken out of the oven, the biscuits will be very soft. Let them cool on the tray for about 10 minutes, then remove them and allow to cool very well on a rack.

This recipe makes about 2 dozen ANZAC biscuits. They are slightly sweet, crunchy on the outside and somewhat chewy in the middle the day they are made but can get soft if not stored in airtight containers.

If they do soften, re-crisp them in the oven at about 150C (300F) for 3 to 4 minutes.