These biscuits are symbols of the work carried out by the women at home, who relentlessly baked them for soldiers overseas to keep their morale high.
By Nandita Nataraj
My first encounter with ANZAC biscuits was two years back when I had been to India. I remember I had picked up the packet because the name “Anzac” was intriguing to me. I had never heard or read anything by that name before. But as they say “what is in a name?” For these cookies were absolutely mind blowing in flavour. They were not overly sweet and they had some healthy ingredients like oats and coconut. I remember polishing off the entire pack the same day. 
It is only recently I came to know that Anzac was actually an abbreviation for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. The ANZAC legend has it that the mothers, wives and the sweet hearts of the soldiers lovingly baked these soldiers’ bicuits which later came to be known as ANZAC biscuits. The biscuits are symbols of the work carried out by the women at home, who relentlessly baked them for soldiers overseas to keep their morale high. Wasn’t that wonderful? Now how could I not bake this after reading so much?
I googled for the recipe and I found one on about.com. I made some changes to the original recipe. But in the end, I was extremely satisfied with the result. You can either make this thin and crisp or thick and slightly chewy. Either ways I assure you it will be as tasty.
PrintANZAC Biscuit
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: makes 20 biscuits
Description
The famous anzac biscuit
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter- 6tbsp or 3Oz
- All purpose flour- 1 cup or 8Oz
- Oats-1 cup or 8Oz
- Brown sugar- 1cup or 8Oz
- Golden syrup- 2tbsp
- Unsweetened desiccated coconut- 1 cup or 8Oz
- Baking soda- 1tsp
- Salt- 1/4tsp
- Milk- 2tbsp
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a pan and add the golden syrup and baking soda to the butter and mix well. Take off the heat and keep aside
- In a mixing bowl, mix together, flour, oats, salt and the desiccated coconut.
- Add the melted butter mixture and the milk to the oats and flour mixture and mix well with a wooden spatula.
- Heat the oven and 350F or 180C and line a baking tray with Parchment paper
- Roll about a table spoon of the dough into small balls and flatten them between the palms of your hands.
- Place the flattened dough on the baking tray 4cm apart so that there is room for spreading.
- Bake the biscuits for 10-12 min or until golden brown.
- Remove the biscuits from the oven and allow them to cool in the baking tray for 5min.
- Remove the biscuits from the tray and cool them on a wire rack.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
I’ve heard of these, but never tried making them. I like your recipe, they look great
What a nice story associated with a cookie!
As an Australian, I make these religiously every April 25 (ANZAC day)! They’re somewhat of a national icon and I’m pretty sure that most Australians have grown up with these. There are two camps of Anzac biscuit fans: chewy and crunchy. I prefer mine chewier so I usually take them out of the oven a little earlier than required. Although they’re traditionally made for ANZAC day, they’re so popular that most coffee shops around Australia tend to sell them all year round.
It’s worth noting that this unusual cookie recipe has no eggs or butter in it (milk traditionally isn’t usually included) – not only were these ingredients hard to come by during the first world war, but also, without them in the recipe, the durable cookies lasted longer so they were the perfect thing to send over to the soldiers on the long voyage to Turkey where they were fighting!
it is great to read the real story behind the anzac biscuit…..i think more aussis [slang] to include new zealanders too] lost their lives in the first world war….the great war….1914-18 per capita, and they were all voluntaries….if i can find the original recipe…..i’ll post it here
found the following refs…the second one seems like what my great-great gran made
Anzac biscuit refs
1[ http://www.ladyshrike.com/recipes/id96.html
another recipe taken from
http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/anzac/biscuit/recipe.asp
The popular ANZAC biscuit is a traditional, eggless sweet biscuit.
The following is a original recipe provided by Bob Lawson, an ANZAC present at the Gallipoli landing,1915.
Ingredients
• 1 cup each of plain flour, sugar, rolled oats, and coconut
• 4 oz butter
• 1 tbls treacle (golden syrup)
• 2 tbls boiling water
• 1 tsp bicarbonate soda (add a little more water if mixture is too dry)
Method
1. Grease biscuit tray and pre-heat oven to 180°C.
2. Combine dry ingredients.
3. Melt together butter and golden syrup. Combine water and bicarbonate soda, and add to butter mixture.
4. Mix butter mixture and dry ingredients.
5. Drop teaspoons of mixture onto tray, allowing room for spreading.
6. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool on tray for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks.
Also interesting details from arnotts biscuits…[.very large australian biscuit manufacturer ]…rolled –out dough, cut into .made squares, and without oats or cocunut
Thanks so much for all the recipes Maz. I will try the recipes soon :)
As a New Zealander, love your recipe! New Zealand had compulsory conscription in WW1 ( and WW2 ), Australians were all volunteers tho’
Gorgeous cookies! Thanks for the recipe!