andrejthechef
AustraliaDessertDessertVegetarian

Anzac Biscuits

Golden oat, coconut and golden-syrup biscuits with chewy or crisp edges, depending on how long they bake. Originally sent overseas to soldiers in care packages.

prep
15 min
cook
15 min
total
30 min
serves
12
level
easy
Anzac Biscuits, a dish from Australia and New Zealand

Anzac biscuits have real history behind them: a no-egg recipe designed during the First World War so women could send a treat to soldiers overseas that would actually survive the long journey without spoiling.

That absence of egg is exactly why golden syrup and a baking soda reaction do the binding and leavening instead, and it is also why these keep so well in a tin at home, more than a week past baking.

Part of our 20 best Australian recipes list.

method

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) and line two baking trays with parchment.

  2. Mix the oats, coconut, flour and sugar together in a large bowl.

  3. Melt the butter and golden syrup together gently in a small saucepan.

  4. Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water, then stir it into the melted butter mixture; it will foam up slightly.

  5. Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined into a firm, slightly crumbly dough.

  6. Roll into balls, about 2 tablespoons each, and flatten slightly on the trays, leaving room to spread.

  7. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden; bake toward the shorter end for a chewier biscuit, longer for a crisper one.

  8. Let them firm up on the tray for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

chef's tips

  • There is no egg in this recipe, which is not an oversight. Anzac biscuits were designed to be sent overseas to soldiers during the First World War, and a recipe without egg kept far better over the long journey without refrigeration.
  • Golden syrup, not honey, is the traditional sweetener and binder here, along with the baking soda reaction, which replaces the leavening and binding an egg would normally provide.
  • Bake time is a genuine choice, not a target to hit exactly. Less time gives a chewier biscuit, more gives a crisp, snappy one; both are correct depending on preference.
  • These keep very well in an airtight container for over a week, part of why they traveled so successfully in the first place.