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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Life of Dozer
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Perfect. If I want them softer just cook for a little less time but I’m a Libra so I like crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. Love this recipe.
Hi Dozer 😘
Discovered ANZAC cookies (ok biscuits) on a trip to NZ. Made this recipe this morning and they are far and away the best breakfast cookie ever. The recipe is perfect, crunchy and chewy all at once.
cut the sugar in half, i used brown, and mix half butter half olive oil. very forgiving recipe.
Hey Nagi
Can I substitute almond flour for wheat flour?
best
t
I am confused about cooking time. 1/2 way through swap trays? Do you only cook each tray 7 mins? I can cook 2 trays in my oven at one time – why can’t I cook them at the same time? Then do I cook them for 7 mins or 15 mins?
If say recipe says biscuit they must be crisp and snap other wise they are classed as a cookie. That is by judges rules
Worked beautifully. I wrap mine into a roll of clingfilm and refrigerate/cut into disks so I can bake or freeze as needed and they bake perfectly. Really great recipe that im making again and again. I don’t even like coconut!!
Don’t change a thing, if you want authentic ANZAC biscuits.
I just made a batch and this recipe is tremendous!
Oh, the kitchen has a heavily aroma also!!!
Thanks for ALlyour fabulous recipes , my cooking is quite profoundly improved, by ALL recipetineats recipes.
Hints and tips are truly, truly, worth observing…makes a massive difference in all recipes I have tried.
Ha! At last, I am getting pretty good at cooking.
Cheers to the incredible recipetineats team.
Loved this Anzac Biscuit recipe. Your tips on how to make them crunchy vs chewy helped me to keep everyone happy! I added a pinch of salt, which I think helped to make the flavour sing. This recipe is a keeper – thank you!
I made these with maple syrup instead of golden syrup. Just because I have a whole lot of maple syrup from Canadian visitors.
The flavour was a bit more subtle than a normal Anzac biscuit and they were maybe a bit softer because the maple syrup is runnier. Very good though!
The key to this recipe is putting your cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to set before baking. The batter is a bit dry and crumbly, and doesn’t have eggs to bind it. I like to use maple syrup instead of golden syrup, and also add 1/4 cup chopped walnuts + 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots + 1/4 tsp salt – delicious!
So…..not Anzac Biscuits then.
You have modified the recipe to make normal biscuits. Not Anzac bikkies.
It’s a crime against the ANZAC soldiers to mess around with this recipe; Australians hold this very dear to our hearts. You’d be better just sticking to oatmeal biscuits
Genuinely why would you comment this? So weird.
Because you’re obviously not a Kiwi or an Aussie. This biscuit is closely connected not just to the ANZACs but also all the Kiwis and diggers who fought in WWI, to the point where the ANZAC biscuit is protected by governmental regulations about the recipe and what can be called an ANZAC biscuit because of it. Always difficult for foreigners to grasp things which have nothing to do with their history but perhaps read a little about the history of the ANZACs and ANZAC Day to try and understand the deep significance of what this biscuit represents for people from Downunder.
That’s not an Anzac biscuit we all know and love.
I care, actually.
I’ve got my first batch of these in the oven and they smell amazing. I am very interested to try Astro’s version next. Sometimes you can learn things in the comments if you’re not there scolding someone.
Good comment. People are so easily offended these days. 👍
I think the oats and flour here in Canada make it that you need to add extra to get the right shape. I followed the recipe to a T and they were rather flat 😅
I’m confused. I’ve made both the metric and imperial recipe. The metric is way butterier. Then I realised it’s a cup each of flour and oats in the imperial, but 150g and 100g in the metric recipe. Typo?
Australian tablespoon of 20ml or the rest of the world tablespoon 15 ml?
Made these cookies and baked them for 12 minutes as suggested — they turned out beautifully! Lovely and chewy with a crisp edge. I added a pinch of salt to my batch and also reduced the sugar to 150g, but they were still a bit too sweet for me and my family. Next time, I’ll try cutting the sugar down to 100–120g.
My anzacs taste delicious but they are softer than I like.
I will put them back in the oven but wonder what might be the reason.
They rolled & flattened well,
Totally agree Angela….but there’s always at least one, yeah? 🙄
Really easy and nice recipe. For those that are calorie counting, I made 24 with the exact measurements and calculate 174 cals per biscuit.
Finally an Anzac biscuit recipe that is amazing. My mix turned out perfect. M a fan of crunchy biscuits and these were great. Held their shape. I made medium & bigger ones. I’ll definitely be making again. Thank you
Seems like you plagiarized your Anzac biscuit recipe.
But wait…Seems every other person that EVER made Anzac biscuits since they were invented must have plagiarized this recipe. I might find the ancestors of who ever made them originally and get them to call you out for being a cheater!
You think you invented all your recipes? What a joke!
What an ego you have!
Very good version – I use 1 tbsp of golden syrup and 1/4 c water to combine- they are delicious