The Best Anzac Biscuits Recipe (Chewy Or Crunchy) (2024)

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Enjoy the crunchy chewy goodness of ANZAC biscuits, an Australian tradition with a unique origin. These oat loaded golden syrup cookies are so good you will want to enjoy them all year round!

This simple ANZAC biscuit recipe is great to make with kids while sharing with them some of Australia’s history.

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AN ANZAC Tradition

ANZAC biscuits are an Australian icon and a favourite for many.

While most of us wait until ANZAC Day to make them, they are so delicious that you will want to have them in your regular baking rotation!

ANZACDay is on the 25th of April and acknowledges the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand troops during the First World War.

ANZACstands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It is a name that is now worn with pride with ANZAC dawn services and parades being a significant commemorative event each year in Australia and New Zealand.

The date of ANZAC Day has significance, as it is due to the 25th of April being the day the troops landed in Gallipoli.

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What is the Story Behind Anzac Biscuits?

If you are unfamiliar with the history of ANZAC Day, there’s a good chance you might be wondering why baking delicious cookies is part of the tradition.

ANZAC biscuits were claimed to have been made and sent by the women’s groups and wives of soldiers to the troops who were serving.

They needed something that would not spoil quickly and would travel relatively well with naval transportation.

And that is how ANZAC biscuits came to be.

While they are especially popular to make around ANZAC Day, they are also a popular treat for Australia Day in January too! They also make a great lunch box snack!

One thing is for sure, they are an enjoyable biscuit treat and easy to make.

This is also a really fun way to teach your kids about Australian and New Zealand military history, by getting them in the kitchen and helping you bake a batch of yummy chewy oat cookies!

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TIPS FOR COOKING ANZAC BISCUITS WITH KIDS: Younger kids can easily help measure and pour the dry ingredients into the bowl and stir to combine the mixture while older kids can assist with the stovetop and rolling process too.

How To Make ANZAC Biscuits

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STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius (300 degrees Fahrenheit) and line a baking tray with baking paper.

STEP TWO: Sift flour & cinnamon into a large heatproof bowl. Mix in rolled oats, coconut, and sugars.

STEP THREE: Combine butter, syrup and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until butter melts completely. Remove from heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda immediately. This will cause your mixture to foam.

STEP FOUR: Add the butter mixture to your dry ingredients immediately and stir until well combined.

STEP FIVE: Roll 1 tablespoon of mixture into balls and place on the lined tray, leaving approximately 3 cm between them. Press down on cookie dough to make them approximately 1cm thick.

STEP SIX: Bake the ANZAC cookies for 15 minutes. (See tips below about crunchy vs soft ANZAC biscuits). Remove from the oven and leave to rest on the oven tray for a few minutes before transferring to the wire cooling rack.

The printable recipe card with a FULL ingredients list and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of this post.

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Golden Syrup Substitutes

You may also hear ANZAC biscuits referred to as crunchy golden syrup biscuits.

If you live outside of Australia, you may not be familiar with Golden Syrup. It is a thick amber-coloured sugar syrup that is different from maple syrup or honey.

If you need a substitution, you can use corn or maple syrup, or try molasses. Alternatively, you can make your own golden syrup at home.

CRUNCHY OR CHEWY ANZAC BISCUITS?

ANZAC biscuits are a sweet treat that can be enjoyed either chewy or crunchy. The key is in the cooking time!

If you prefer chewy ANZAC biscuits or soft ANZAC biscuits, be sure to pull them out of the oven sooner, at around 15 minutes. They will still be soft when they come out of the oven, so allow them time to cool on the tray.

If you prefer crunchy ANZAC biscuits, a longer cooking time of up to 18 minutes will result in a bigger crunch.

Keep a close eye on them though because no one wants burnt cookies!

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Storing Your Biscuits

Store your biscuits in an airtight container. They keep well for up to a week, maintaining their crispy texture. After this time they will start to go soft.

If you prefer them crunchier, just pop them in the oven for a few minutes to harden them up again.

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ANZAC biscuits are a classic Australian and New Zealand biscuit that is perfect for any time of year. These cookies are easy to make, and they always taste delicious. This is a great recipe to make with kids as a fun way to teach about the history of the ANZACS.

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For more Aussie-inspired treats to try:

  • 4 ingredient Pavlova
  • White Chocolate crackles
  • Choc chip Weetbix cookies
  • Cranberry Rice Bubble cookies
  • Australia Day recipe ideas
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ANZAC Biscuits

Yield: 20

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Making ANZAC biscuits is an Australian tradition and these chewy oat biscuits are easy to make with kids.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 1 cup desiccated coconut
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup golden syrup
  • 125g butter
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 tbs water

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius (300F) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Sift flour & cinnamon into a bowl. Mix in oats, coconut, and sugars.
  3. Combine butter, syrup and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until butter melts.
  4. Remove from heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Immediately. It will foam up. Add to your dry ingredients immediately and stir until well combined.
  5. Roll 1 tablespoon of mixture into balls and place on the tray, leaving approximately 3 cm between them. Press down on cookie dough to make them approximately 1cm thick.
  6. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and leave to rest on the oven tray for a few minutes before transferring to wire cooling rack.

Notes

For a chewy ANZACBiscuits, a shorter baking time of 15 minutes is best.

For crunchy biscuits, bake for approximately 18 minutes taking care not to allow them to burn.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 20Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 149Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 56mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 1gSugar: 11gProtein: 2g

These figures are provided as an approximate guide only.

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Do you prefer your biscuits chewy or crunchy? I’m a fan of chewy Anzac biscuits.

The Best Anzac Biscuits Recipe (Chewy Or Crunchy) (2024)

FAQs

Should Anzac biscuits be crunchy or chewy? ›

Traditionally the biscuit was known to be crunchy. According to the Australian War Memorial, soldiers used to grind them up and use them to make porridge. To make your biscuits extra crispy try cooking them on a lower temperature for a few minutes longer or, add an extra teaspoon of boiling water to your biscuit mix.

Why do my Anzac biscuits go soft? ›

If you under bake these, they'll be soft; if you over bake, they'll become a little harder, although they shouldn't become like rocks, as they'd burn first. I'm sure you'd notice that! ??? If your Anzacs spread, your butter was too warm. Chill them for at least 30 minutes before baking, and this should help.

Why didn t my Anzac biscuits flatten? ›

Don't let the mixture stand around.

So, make sure you roll and bake the mixture as soon as possible after mixing to make rolling and flattening of the biscuits easy. If it does get a little dry you can just mix in another tablespoon or two of water to help make it a little more pliable before shaping.

What to use instead of golden syrup in Anzac biscuits? ›

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).

What makes a biscuit chewy or crunchy? ›

Well, the long and short answer to chewy cookies is it's all about the moisture content. Cookies that are dense and chewy incorporate more moisture into the batter. This can be achieved by making substitutions with wet and dry ingredients, or even just changing the way you incorporate certain ingredients.

What is the difference between chewy and crunchy cookies? ›

Remember moisture is the key! White sugar creates crispier cookies and brown sugar creates chewier cookies. Why use melted butter? Melted butter creates cookies with a different texture compared to cookies made with softened or creamed butter.

How to make soft biscuits crunchy? ›

If you want to make soft biscuits crispy again, you can try reheating them in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Place the biscuits on a baking sheet and bake for 5–7 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy.

Why are my biscuits not crunchy? ›

To prepare crunchy biscuits, reduce the amount of ingredients that tend to retain moisture, such as 00 type flour, eggs or brown sugar. Prefer white granulated sugar or corn syrup instead, for drier biscuits.

What does bicarb soda do in Anzac biscuits? ›

Baking soda or bicarb soda is the main raising agent in Anzac biscuits - it is added to the wet ingredients before being mixed into the dry ingredients.

What if my Anzac biscuit mixture is too dry? ›

Texture - The biscuit dough has to be just right. If while mixing, you feel that the dough is too dry and crumbly and you are not able to shape it into rounds, add more liquid (this can be either in the form of a tablespoon of melted butter or just a tablespoon of boiling water).

How do you make biscuits rise more? ›

Most biscuit recipes will tell you to fold or stack the dough in on itself once or twice, rolling it out in between stacking. If your favorite recipe isn't yielding the height that you'd like to see, consider adding an extra fold or two, which will create more layers.

How do you soften hard Anzac biscuits? ›

Microwaving them. If you cover your cookies with a wet paper towel and nuke them for a few seconds, they should soften up enough to eat.

What were Anzac Biscuits originally called? ›

At first the biscuits were called Soldiers' Biscuits, but after the landing on Gallipoli, they were renamed ANZAC Biscuits.

Is golden syrup the same as Karo syrup? ›

"The main difference between corn syrup and golden syrup is in the manufacturing," explains Zeratsky; corn syrup is made from corn starch, while golden syrup is made from sugar.

Can I use honey instead of golden syrup in biscuits? ›

The golden syrup can be substituted and you could use (liquid/runny) honey or agave syrup. But we would mention that honey can have quite an assertive taste when used in cooking, so try to use a very mild-flavoured honey and we would mention that the cookies will not taste exactly the same.

What texture should biscuits be? ›

Biscuits get their light, fluffy, mouthwatering texture from the consistency of the dough and the air pockets that are created when the butter melts during baking. Biscuit dough is moist and sticky, so much so that it may seem too wet after you've added all your flour.

Should biscuits be crunchy? ›

Whether they are simple, whole, enriched with chocolate chips or almonds, the important thing is that our biscuits are crunchy and crumbly. Very often, however, small mistakes during the preparation of the shortcrust pastry make the biscuits come out of the oven too soft or too frothy.

Why were Anzac biscuits hard and long? ›

The original Anzac biscuit was known as an Anzac wafer or tile and, along with beef bully, was part of the rations given to our soldiers during World War I. They were included instead of bread because they had a much longer shelf-life. Originally, they were so hard they were virtually inedible.

Do biscuits go hard or soft? ›

Unlike bread and cakes, which tend to become hard the longer they spend in the air, most biscuits go soft over time. As in bread, starch from the flour in biscuits begins to crystalize after a few days, theoretically making biscuits more brittle.

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