Anzac-ly The Delicious Biscuit (Cookie) I Was Looking For
Marching orders in hand, I gathered the ingredients to make Anzac Biscuits. Think Oatmeal Cookie meets Oatcake or Granola Bar…you end up with a biscuit (cookie) that is buttery, sweet-salty, chewy-crispy (are these oxymorons?), and EXTREMELY delicious.
A Brief History On Anzac Biscuits
These tasty biscuits (cookies) can be traced back to World War One and the Australian-New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). As the story goes, moms and wives sent these biscuits to their soldiers fighting, both as a morale booster and reprieve from the dreary military rations. Made simply of flour, coconut, oatmeal, Golden Syrup, butter, they were easy to make and tasty. The end product was a caramel-ly sturdy biscuit that traveled well and lasted a long time. A welcomed treat from home.
Simplicity At Its Finest
Put this biscuit recipe in your incredibly easy with huge returns file. Very easy and perfect for little hands helping in the kitchen. Stir the dry ingredients together in a big bowl (kids love doing this), melt butter with the Golden Syrup on the stove (you do this), add the baking soda mixture to the butter (once again, your job) and add to dry ingredients (kids love to stir and make a mess). Scoop, bake, and eat! Easy-peasy.
Tweaks
The recipe is from Dorie Greenspan’s (Goddess of Baking) book, Dorie’s Cookies.
I used a one-eighth cup to portion the dough (could not find my scoop of this size 🤔) which produced cookies a little over 2 inches in diameter. Use either a #24 or #30 ice cream scoop for bigger biscuits, I would. They’re that good.
Press the dough into a puck-like disc on the baking sheet. Gives the biscuits a running start to a nice even shape.
If I had baked these cookies for 17-18 minutes, as directed, I’d have lumps of coal for all those naughty kids at Christmas. The first batch baked for 14 minutes at 325 degrees, which produced deep golden brown cookies with dark edges. The second batch baked at 320 degrees for 13 minutes. The biscuits were deep brown, carrot cake color without the dark edges. If you like a chewier, lighter-colored cookie, reduce the baking time, personally not recommended. If you make larger cookies, adjust baking times accordingly.
Subbing honey or corn syrup for Lyle’s Golden Syrup can be done in a pinch. But if you can, please try to use Lyle’s Golden Syrup. It is made from sugar cane and has a nuanced caramel flavor you won’t get with honey or corn syrup. Lots of larger grocery stores carry Lyle’s or you can order it on Big Bad Amazon. Don’t confuse their Dessert Syrup for the Original Cane Syrup, that’s like Log Cabin to real Maple Syrup.
These biscuits are incredibly tasty and easy to make, put them on your “biscuit” bucket list.
P.S.
Not all these biscuits came out perfectly round as pictured, lol. As soon as they came out of the oven, I placed a glass over the not-so-round ones and swirled it in a circular motion thereby jostling the cookies into perfect rounds. Tricks of the trade, babee.
ANZAC Biscuits
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup AP flour 136 grams
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats 80 grams
- 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut 90 grams
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar 100 grams
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar or additional granulated sugar 50gms * Not in Dorie's recipe! Add if using unsweetened coconut, omit if you like,
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt Use 1/4 teaspoon if using salted butter, Dorie's recipe uses sea salt, I thought it was a touch salty.
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick
- 2 tablespoons Lyle's Golden Syrup
Leavening Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon boiling water
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, coconut, sugars, and salt and set aside.
- In a small saucepan over low heat melt the butter with the Golden Syrup and remove from heat.
- Combine the boiling water and baking soda in a small bowl to dissolve the baking soda.
- Pour the water and baking soda into the butter mixture and stir to combine.
- Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Use a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop to mold each cookie by gently packing dough into ice cream scoop and then turning out onto cookie sheet or form 1 1/2-inch balls of the dough with spoons)
- Place cookies 1-2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake for 17-18 minutes* or until deep golden brown (the color of carrot cake). Makes 16-18 cookies.*Read my post regarding baking times!