Sweet Treats – Anzac Biscuits
EDIT: I first posted this recipe three years’ ago but of course, Anzac Biscuits at this time of year are as universally loved as ever. Enjoy them as you make your own observances this week.
It has been my privilege to be able to take my children, then aged 12 and 14, to Anzac Cove in Turkey for the Anzac Day Dawn Service. These days, nearly 10,o00 people attend the service and it is masterfully organised to reduce the impact of so many people in such a small site.
It begins by being made to walk into the cove from the car parks which are a considerable distance away. Before you reach the beach head there is an array of security checkpoints where every bag is searched and where people then re-assemble themselves to dig out an Australian flag or two, pin some rosemary on their lapel, or in the case of a young women we were travelling with, to place her grandfather’s medals on her chest. Volunteers gave us each a dilly bag. In it was a program, a set of strict instructions about conducting ourselves in the midst of gravesites, and, rather evocatively, a large packet of Anzac biscuits.
It is a timely reminder that even now, there are mothers and families who are sending care packages to our soldiers in places of the world where I can definitely not take my children. There are mothers who wait for their sons to come home, wives and girlfriends who email and Skype their husbands, never quite knowing where they are, always being asked for decent food to be sent. Muesli bars and fruit roll ups are apparently very popular in rucksacks. I know. I’ve been chatting with a soldier in Afghanistan who tells me this. If you think cooking on a budget is a challenge, try cooking in a war zone.
This is for the fabulous Jewels, who very kindly introduced me to her son, and who waits for her boy to come home.
Makes 24 chewy biscuits. Hard Anzac biscuits are un-Australian.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup (150g) plain flour; 1 cup (90g) rolled oats ; 1 cup (85g) desiccated coconut ; ¾ cup (155g) brown sugar ; 125g butter ; 2 tbsp golden syrup ; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
Sift the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the oats, coconut and brown sugar.
Put the butter, golden syrup and 2 tbsp water in a small saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until melted. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined.
Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls. Place on the trays, about 5cm apart. Press with a fork to flatten slightly. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Set aside on the trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack so they cool completely.
COST
$2.00 for 24 biscuits.
Thank you so much for posting this! I actually just finished munching on some Anzac biccies that a friend of mine living in France brought up as a gift a couple of weeks ago. I was planning to go searching for my own recipe today and it landed in my inbox!
I’ve also been lucky enough to go to Anzac Cove for the Anzac Day memorial service in 2007. Most incredible day (night?) and I felt so proud that I could go on behalf of my grandpa who passed away less than a month later.
Thanks again.
I was there that year. We could have been just seats away.
Hi Sandra, I have just discovered your website and I’m loving it- so thank you very much! I’ve just gone wheat free and I’m wondering is there a way I can convert this recipe to wheat free? Is it as simple as replacing the flour with gluten free baking flour, or do I need to adjust cooking times/ temperatures? Many thanks!
Hi Carla,
Sorry it’s taken me a little while to get back to you, I had to do some research about suitably gluten free alternatives.
As far as I am aware, oats also have gluten, so it’s not as simple as swapping plain flour for a gluten-free flour. Better Homes and Gardens have a terrfic gluten free recipe using rice bubbles and cornflakes (gluten-free varieties of course) and I recommend it to you. You can find it at
http://au.food.yahoo.com/recipes/recipe/-/5347032/gluten-free-anzac-biscuits/
Let us know how it goes.
Hi Sandra,
Thanks so much for the suggestion, I’ve just made them. They taste great and they have that lovely chewy anzac texture. Only problem is they’re completely stuck to the baking paper! Next time I’ll put them straight on the tray, but for now I’m eating little bits straight from the paper. Yum!
Carla, did you use silicone-based baking paper or greaseproof paper? Baking paper is shiny and feels a little like a teflon coated frying pan. Food generally slides straight off without any fuss. Greaseproof paper is absorbent and has to be greased to prevent food sticking to it.
Made these Anzac biscuits yesterday and they’re just about all gone! Very delicious and chewy. I was lucky enough to be in Anzac Cove on Anzac Day 1992, there was no security then. The buses parked on the road above Anzac Cove.
They parked ABOVE Anzac Cove? Wow, completely different set up now. These days you walk UP the hill after the Dawn Service to Lone Pine and beyond. Gruelling trudge up an incredibly steep hill, and all I could think as I did it was ‘those men ran up these hills with backpacks on and bullets flying’. An incredible day.
I made a double batch last night to take to work today (intended to make one batch but too many didn’t make it out of the kitchen so I had to make a second batch!) I love a chewy Anzac biccie and these are just divine! They are being devoured in the tea room as I write! Thanks Sandra xx
That’s awesome!
These are the best! Just made a batch today and have to stop myself eating them
After several failed attempts at hinting for my partner to make these (he’s great at baking), I gave up and decided to do them myself. This is no small deal cos baking scares me!
Anyway, not only did I not set the house on fire, or poison anyone, they were fantastic! Feeling very proud of myself!
Thank you!!!
I hope it’s the start of a life long friendship with baking Kirrily
Yummy, yummy, yummy and so cheap and easy to make. I had to purchase all of the ingredients, however i will be able to get probably 6 batches of the biscuits.
Im loving trying all of your recipes!
Well, here goes nothing! I’ll have to try these…even though I am in the US (Colorado to be exact). Love the Aussie blogs & just learned about Anzac this year (definitely should have taken a 2nd year of world history!).
Found your blog through kidspot and I WILL be back. I might just have to make these for our Teacher Appreciation Week.
Also, any suggestions in your recipes for treats to send to Iraq to my son?
Susan, a batch of these biscuits certainly won’t go astray. They were originally made for ANZAC troops in the First World War and survived long sea voyages and poor storage conditions, so they should work in more modern (though no less tough) conditions.
Also, look out for muesli bars, which have no eggs or milk ingredients so keep a little better in hot weather. Wrap them up individually in foil to store them.
Great recipe, thank you. There is a website devoted to information about sending care parcels to serving soldiers. http://oceanskykhaki.blogspot.com.au/ There is a free postal address – we can send parcels up to 2kg for FREE! My 2 kids classes at school sponsor a platoon in Afghanistan and send a couple of shoeboxes a week full of treats, letters, magazines, toiletries etc. Really great for the kids and the soldiers even write back to them. A great experience all round…
Just wanted to let you know my 6 year old daughter and I made these on Anzac Day and they were DELICIOUS! As we stirred the mixture we talked about what Anzac Day means. So thank you for the recipe, it’s gone in the recipe folder and has made repeat appearances in lunch boxes since!