The crunchiness of Anzac Biscuits goes back to the roots of when they were invented – by soldiers’ wives who needed a biscuit recipe that would stay fresh for the months that it would take to reach soldiers overseas back in the early 1900’s.
The warm sweetness from the golden syrup combined with the wholesome goodness of oats and coconut is a flavour that is unique to this crunchy Australian biscuit!
Anzac Biscuits
Australia’s favourite biscuit! We love them for their buttery caramel flavour, how crunchy they are, that it’s a forgiving recipe and the history – this is a biscuit that Aussies make to commemorate ANZAC Day.
“ANZAC” stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. And ANZAC Day – 25 April 1915 – is Australia’s most important national occasion each year, marking the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War during which we suffered heavy casualties.
It is said that the wives of soldiers came up with the original Anzac Biscuits using ingredients such that the biscuits stayed fresh for the weeks it took to reach the soldiers overseas. I’m told that the original Anzac biscuits were as hard as a rock, so hard in fact that some soldiers would grind them up and use them as porridge.
I think Anzac biscuits as we know them today are much more to my liking! 😅
Here’s what you need (not much!)
Golden syrup
The only ingredient that might not be familiar to those outside of Australia and the UK is golden syrup. It’s an amber coloured syrup with the consistency of honey, and it has a toffee flavour. It has a bit of a harsh edge to the flavour so I only use it for baking, though some people use it in place of maple syrup for things like pancakes.
Best substitute for golden syrup is a combination of light molasses or treacle, plus honey. I use 1 part molasses or treacle, and 3 parts honey – the flavour is nearly identical, and the colour is very similar (a bit darker).
How to make Anzac biscuits
The making part is very straight forward – melt butter with golden syrup, add the baking soda then mix it into the dry ingredients. Roll into balls, flatten and bake!
Should Anzac biscuits chewy or crisp??
Apparently, the question of whether Anzac biscuits should be crisp or chewy is a topic of huge debate. 🤷🏻♀️
In my world, there’s no question. Anzac biscuits should be crispy, crispy, crispy!!! Just like the original created by the soldiers’ wives over a century ago! 🙂
But actually, if you want chewy it’s very simple – just reduce the bake time by a few minutes.
See? Anzac biscuits for all! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Anzac Biscuits (Golden Oatmeal Cookies)
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup desiccated coconut , unsweetened
- 3/4 cup white sugar , preferably caster / superfine
- 150g / 5oz unsalted butter
- 4 tbsp golden syrup (Note 1)
- 1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate soda)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan forced)
- Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
- Mix dry: Mix flour, oats, coconut and sugar in a bowl.
- Melt butter and golden syrup: Place butter and golden syrup in a saucepan over medium high heat and stir until butter has melted.
- Baking soda: Add baking soda and stir to combine – it will fizz up, this is normal. Immediately remove from heat.
- Biscuit dough – Pour butter mixture into flour and mix until just combined. The mixture will be crumbly but should stick when you press together.
- Form patties – Scrunch / press 1 tablespoon of the mixture into balls, then flatten into patties. (Thinner = crisper, thicker = chewier centre, crispy edges) Place balls, 2.5 cm/1" apart, on prepared trays.
- Bake for 15 minutes, swapping trays halfway during cooking, or until deep golden. (Bake 12 min for chewy biscuits!)
- Cool to crisp – Stand on trays for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool – they harden as they cool!
Recipe Notes:
- 1 tbsp light molasses + 3 tbsp honey or light corn syrup
- 1 tbsp treacle + 3 tbsp honey or light corn syrup
Nutrition Information:
Anzac biscuits originally published July 2014, refreshed in 2019 and 2020. Updated with new photos, new video and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added! No change to recipe.
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Can I make these without coconut?
I just made a batch as I was tired on a,Thursday night. Its so easy and so tasty.
Yes it was crisp at the edges and chewier in the middle. I actually dislike commercial Anzac biscuits and only eat it when I bake it.
So easy to make and very delicious – I don’t think they are too sweet, they are just right! We made them with 1/2 caster and 1/2 packed brown sugar and tastes amazing
I’ve found date syrup to be a really useful substitute for golden syrup. It’s not as sweet and the colour is really rich. This is a great recipe. I’ve been using your recipes in my classroom with repeated success so thank you! 🙂
Hands down, these are the best ANZAC cookies I’ve had yet! I’ve made other recipes for them but I like yours the best! I never heard of them until I moved to New Zealand 9 years ago. But they have become a firm favorite in our house and are on the “cookie rotation” for my children.
I never thought I cared about Anzac biscuits. I made these with my daughter on Anzac Day last week and they were so easy and had barely any ingredients. I made them chewy so I cooked for 12 minutes as per Nagi’s directions. These are so freaking delicious and I think about them every day lately. Everyone loves them and I look forward to having one with a cuppa each day! These are going to be a staple in my house. 10/10 again Nagi!!
Love the texture, so delicious!!
Great recipe, no issues at all. Got devoured by kids and adults alike at our Anzac Day get together.
Thanks for writing the measurements in grams! I added diced dried apricots and fresh rosemary to my batch. Simply wonderful.
I had to make a little bit of extra butter/golden syrup/baking soda to get them to combine as they were quite crumbly, but other than that a super easy recipe.
Hi Nagi. I’ve made these a few times now and each time when they cook the biscuits flatten out & expand, joining together to make one supersize biscuit!! They still taste great but aesthetically they’re a mess! Is it because I make the balls too big? What am I doing wrong?
Delicious! Loved these
Cooked these yesterday. Even though they were great I found they had a bit of a bicarb taste. The recipe is almost identical to my Nan’s recipe that has been passed down. She was born in 1904. She always dissolved the bicarb in a tbs of boiling water before adding it to the syrup mixture. What do you think?
150gm of butter was way too much! They almost looked runny before going into the oven and then had to pop them on paper towels post baking.
Made these today (obviously) with the kids. I put a little less sugar (raw sugar as had no caster sugar). Also ground my own coconut flakes as was out of desiccated coconut. These were so, so yummy. I think I had three in one sitting. Added to family cookbook for next time! (Relatively easy for kids to make too.)
Quite sweet. We like them not so sweet. Next time we will definitely make it less sweeter. Everything else perfect. Highly recommended.
Perfect recipe and method as always. Thanks Nagi. Mine turned out very well. I got 20 bickies.
YUM! These are divine. Cooked in less than 10 mins in my oven.
Also, I’m not sure they really last a week. They were gone before they had even cooled down.
Delicious biscuits, but quite sweet. A little crumbly on the outside even with recomended chewy cooking time. Recomended diped in warm milk, hot chocolate or the like.
This is hands down the best Anzac biscuit recipe. I also like putting the dough in the fridge for 30 mins. Reduce sugar to 1/4 cup. Use a cookie scoop and press the dough into it.
Push each dome into the tray with 3 flat fingers. Makes 20.