Anzac biscuits are the most Australian bake there is.

Why you are cooking this tonight

Anzac biscuits are the most Australian bake there is. Rolled oats, coconut, golden syrup, bicarb fizzed with boiling water. The original recipe was shipped to WWI soldiers by wives and mothers because the ingredients kept for weeks and did not spoil at sea. A century later, they are still the best biscuits in the tin.

The texture is your choice: chewy or crunchy. More golden syrup and underbaking gives chewy. Less syrup and longer in the oven gives crunchy. This recipe hits the middle: crisp edge, chewy middle. Spread them well apart on the tray – they spread a lot.

Notes on method

Golden syrup is non-negotiable – honey or treacle change the flavour entirely. Combine the bicarb with boiling water last and pour in quickly – it fizzes and lightens the dough.

What to pour with it

Australian billy tea, a glass of milk, or a Rutherglen muscat if you are treating them as dessert.

Starward Two-Fold Whisky

Australian whisky with an Australian biscuit. Coconut and oats meet wine-cask malt.

Woodford Reserve Bourbon

A small bourbon over ice. The golden syrup in the biscuit echoes the vanilla in the bourbon.

Appleton Estate Signature Rum

Aged rum and Anzacs at 4pm. A criminally good combination.

Classic Anzac Biscuits

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 10

Servings: 24 biscuits

Cuisine: Australian

Calories: 280

Ingredients Method Nutrition

Ingredients

Biscuits

150 g rolled oats (not quick oats)
150 g plain flour
100 g desiccated coconut
170 g brown sugar
125 g unsalted butter
3 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp boiling water

Method

Preheat oven to 160°C fan-forced. Line 2 trays with baking paper.
Combine oats, flour, coconut and brown sugar in a large bowl.
Melt butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan over low heat.
Stir bicarb into boiling water in a small bowl - it will foam. Pour immediately into the melted butter mixture; it will fizz.
Pour wet into dry. Stir until combined.
Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls. Place on trays, leaving 5cm between each (they spread a lot). Flatten slightly with the back of a fork.
Bake 12-15 minutes until deep golden. Cool on trays 5 min (they will be soft) then transfer to a wire rack to crisp up.
Keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 280kcal

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Two things that go wrong

You used quick-cook oats instead of rolled.

Quick oats turn to mush and you lose the nubbly chew that defines an Anzac. Rolled oats only, sometimes called ‘old fashioned‘ or ‘traditional’. Worth checking the packet.

You skipped the bicarb-and-boiling-water step.

That foaming reaction is what gives the biscuit its lift and its golden crackle. If you forget it, you’ll bake hard pucks. Pour the bicarb-and-water into the melted butter mixture immediately while it’s bubbling, it should hiss and double in volume.

Variations worth knowing

Macadamia and white chocolate

Fold in 80g chopped macadamias and 80g white chocolate chips with the dry ingredients. Australian on Australian.

Salted caramel

Replace half the golden syrup with dulce de leche and add a generous pinch of sea salt flakes to each biscuit before baking.

Choc-dipped

Dip half of each cooled biscuit in melted dark chocolate and let set on baking paper. Triples the offering at any morning tea.

Leftovers and make ahead

Anzacs keep two weeks in an airtight tin and they get better, the texture deepens as they age. Crumble stale ones over vanilla ice cream. Use as a base for a cheesecake, pulse in a food processor with melted butter and press into a tin. They post well, which is the reason they exist.

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Classic Anzac Biscuits

Why you are cooking this tonight

Notes on method