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In Australia and New Zealand, every family has a recipe for Anzac biscuits, and they all leave out the same thing: eggs. The story every grandmother down under tells is that these oat and coconut biscuits were baked to be packed in tins and sent by ship to the men serving overseas, a voyage that took two months or more. Eggs would have spoiled long before the tin was opened. So the cooks left them out and bound the dough with golden syrup and melted butter instead, and the biscuits arrived as good as the day they were baked.
A biscuit down under is what Americans call a cookie, and this one is like nothing else in the cookie jar: flat, golden, crackled on top, tasting of toasted oats, coconut and caramel. Making them takes one bowl, one small pan and about half an hour. The moment children wait for is when the baking soda, dissolved in hot water, goes into the melted butter and the whole pan foams up. The two questions everybody asks are what to use when there is no golden syrup in the house, and how to bake them chewy or crisp. Both answers are below.
Why this Anzac biscuits works
- No eggs. Without eggs the biscuits are dry enough at heart to keep for weeks in a tin, and they bake flat and crisp at the edges instead of puffy.
- Golden syrup. It glues the oats and coconut together in place of egg and gives the caramel taste that makes an Anzac an Anzac.
- Baking soda in hot water. The soda foams in the warm butter and fills the dough with tiny bubbles, which is why the tops crackle.
- Rolled oats. Old-fashioned oats keep their shape and give the chew. Quick oats turn pasty.
- A moderate oven. A gentle heat browns the sugar slowly, so you can stop early for chewy or go a little longer for crisp.
Ingredients
Makes about 24 biscuits (cookies), 2 1/2 to 3 inches across. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (90g)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (125g)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded or desiccated coconut (65g)
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (150g), or 3/4 cup granulated sugar for a crisper biscuit
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
To melt
- 1/2 cup butter (115g), 1 stick
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup (40g), or 1 tablespoon honey plus 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
To foam
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons boiling water (30ml)
Golden syrup is a thick, pale amber cane syrup sold in many supermarkets near the honey or with the British foods. If you cannot find it, a mix of half honey and half light corn syrup is the closest swap; all honey works too but browns faster. Use unsweetened coconut. The sweetened flaked kind makes the biscuits too sweet and too soft.
How to make Anzac biscuits
Mix
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees (160°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment.
- In a large bowl, stir the oats, flour, coconut, sugar and salt together, breaking up any lumps of brown sugar with your fingers.
- Put the butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan and warm over low heat, stirring, just until the butter has melted. Take the pan off the heat.
- In a cup, stir the baking soda into the boiling water until it dissolves. Pour it into the warm butter and syrup and stir. The mixture will foam up and turn pale and frothy.
- Pour the foaming butter straight over the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until everything is evenly damp and holds together when pressed. If it is too crumbly to shape, stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of water.
Shape and bake
- Roll level tablespoons of the dough into balls and set them on the baking sheets at least 2 inches apart; they spread a great deal. Flatten each ball slightly with your fingers or the back of a spoon.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the middle shelf. For chewy biscuits, bake 11 to 12 minutes, until golden all over but still soft and a little puffed in the center. For crisp biscuits, bake 15 to 17 minutes, until deep golden brown right across.
- Leave the biscuits on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. They are very soft when hot and firm up as they cool. Move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips that make the difference
- Leave room on the tray. Anzac biscuits spread to nearly twice their size, and crowded ones bake together into one big sheet.
- Use a saucepan with some room in it. The butter foams to about double when the soda goes in.
- Mix and shape while the butter is still warm. Once the dough cools it turns crumbly and is harder to roll.
- Judge by color, not by touch. The biscuits feel underbaked when they come out and only harden as they cool on the tray.
- For biscuits that are all the same size, use a small cookie scoop or a measuring tablespoon and level it off.
Variations
- Extra chewy. Use all brown sugar, add 1 more tablespoon of golden syrup and take the biscuits out at 10 to 11 minutes.
- Extra crisp. Use granulated sugar, flatten the balls thin before baking and bake the full 17 minutes.
- With macadamias. Fold in 1/2 cup of chopped macadamia nuts, a very Australian addition.
- Chocolate dipped. Dip half of each cold biscuit in melted dark chocolate and let it set on parchment.
Storage and make-ahead
Once completely cold, keep the biscuits in an airtight tin or jar at room temperature. Crisp ones keep for 2 to 3 weeks; chewy ones are best within 1 week.
Keep chewy and crisp biscuits in separate tins, and never store them with other cookies, or they will soften.
To freeze, pack the baked biscuits in a freezer bag or box with parchment between the layers and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter. If they have softened, 5 minutes in a 300 degree (150°C) oven brings the crunch back.
Frequently asked questions
Why are there no eggs in Anzac biscuits?
The traditional story is that the biscuits had to survive a sea voyage of two months or more in a tin, and eggs would have spoiled. Golden syrup binds the dough instead, and it is the reason the biscuits keep so long.
What can I use if I do not have golden syrup?
The closest swap is half mild honey and half light corn syrup. All honey works, with a slightly different taste and faster browning. Maple syrup is thinner and makes the biscuits spread more, so it is the last choice.
How do I make them chewy instead of crisp?
Use brown sugar, do not flatten the balls much, and take the biscuits out after 11 to 12 minutes, while the centers still look soft. For crisp, use granulated sugar, flatten them and bake 15 to 17 minutes.
Why did my biscuits spread into one sheet?
They were set too close together, or the butter mixture was too hot and runny when the dough was shaped. Leave 2 inches between the balls, and if the dough looks greasy let it stand 5 minutes before rolling.
Fill the tin, put the lid on tight, and see whether they last anywhere near two months in your house.
Anzac Biscuits (The Egg-Free Oat and Coconut Cookies, Chewy or Crisp)
Traditional Anzac biscuits from Australia and New Zealand: rolled oats, coconut, flour and sugar bound with melted butter and golden syrup, lifted with baking soda dissolved in hot water, with no eggs at all. Baked a little less for chewy, a little more for crisp.
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded or desiccated coconut
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (150g), or 3/4 cup granulated sugar for a crisper biscuit
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter (115g), 1 stick
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup (40g), or 1 tablespoon honey plus 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons boiling water
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees (160°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment.
- In a large bowl, stir the oats, flour, coconut, sugar and salt together, breaking up any lumps of brown sugar with your fingers.
- Put the butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan and warm over low heat, stirring, just until the butter has melted. Take the pan off the heat.
- In a cup, stir the baking soda into the boiling water until it dissolves. Pour it into the warm butter and syrup and stir. The mixture will foam up and turn pale and frothy.
- Pour the foaming butter straight over the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until everything is evenly damp and holds together when pressed. If it is too crumbly to shape, stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of water.
- Roll level tablespoons of the dough into balls and set them on the baking sheets at least 2 inches apart; they spread a great deal. Flatten each ball slightly with your fingers or the back of a spoon.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the middle shelf. For chewy biscuits, bake 11 to 12 minutes, until golden all over but still soft and a little puffed in the center. For crisp biscuits, bake 15 to 17 minutes, until deep golden brown right across.
- Leave the biscuits on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. They are very soft when hot and firm up as they cool. Move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
