I made these cookies about 15 years ago, my mom copied down the recipe from a Martha Stewart show highlighting things about Australia. According to Wikipedia Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. Anzac Day remains one of the most important national occasions of both Australia and New Zealand,a rare instance of two sovereign countries not only sharing the same remembrance day, but making reference to both countries in its name. When war broke out in 1914, Australia and New Zealand had been dominions of the British Empire for thirteen and seven years respectively.
We were immediately drawn to the cookies simplicity (no beating, slapping, pinching etc, just mixing) and once they were shaped and baked, the taste and texture was what kept us making it over and over again. You can Christmas this up by adding candied green and red cherry bits, but I like them as is.
Although the recipe has a lot of sugar in it, the cookie doesn’t taste sickly sweet. It’s got a great chewy texture and with the addition of oatmeal, we can pretend it’s somewhat healthy. We have remained true to the recipe, with the exception that this year, I made only half the recipe and made the cookies much smaller (don’t worry, you can eat more of them this way!) Hope you enjoy them.
Anzac Biscuits
Ingredients:
Makes about 3 dozen (I used the smallest ice cream scoop, about 1″ in diametre).
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
- 1/2 cup (1 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoons Lyles Golden Syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon plus a bit baking soda
- 1/8 cup boiling water
Directions:
- Pre heat the oven to 350°F.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, and coconut and stir well with a wire whisk. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with syrup. (I do this in the microwave on 30% so the butter does boil over and make a mess)
- Dissolve baking soda in boiling water, and add to butter mixture. Stir to combine. (Be careful; if the butter is hot, it will bubble up considerably.)\
- Add butter mixture to dry ingredients, and stir to well combine. This will be a very crumbly mixture.
- Using a 1 inch ice-cream scoop, drop onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart (be sure to pack the scoop tightly so the mixture doesn’t crumble).
- Flatten cookies slightly with the heel of your hand. The cookies will spread a little so leave about 2 inches between each.
- Bake until bottom and sides golden brown and firm but not hard, about 11 minutes (larger cookies will take longer).
- Transfer to wire racks to cool.
[…] was an easy conversion because the cookie already had coconut in it — it was a no brainer. True Anzac lovers might miss the butter, but if it means not being able to indulge at all, I think it’s […]
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[…] Eva @ Kitchen Inspirations has a recipe for the ultra thick but soft Anzac cookies […]
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[…] know the Anzac Biscuit is made only during certain times in Australia, but this delicious oat cookie has become a fast […]
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[…] Anzac Biscuits X […]
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[…] Anzac Biscuits […]
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[…] perhaps one of my New England blog-friends can help with that. And if you love oatmeal cookies this is another great recipe, tipping my hat to my Australian friends (Charlie, Lorraine and Maureen) […]
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[…] Eva @ Kitchen Inspirations has a recipe for the ultra thick but soft Anzac cookies […]
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These are gorgeous cookies my friend to commemorate Anzac day- do you mind if I update my current post with them please?
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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Thank you CCU, I’m very flattered that you would like to add my cookies to your beautiful blog, please do!
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I’m thrilled that a Canadian (and by the sounds of it, lots more Canadians!) are enjoying these bikkies. I was just comparing my recipe (which was from the Australian Women’s Weekly Biscuits and Slices, one of my mum’s ancient cookbooks) and they’re very similar. Mine uses a full cup of coconut, and for some reason vanilla essence. That looks strange to me now I’m looking at it (it’s been a while since I made them), but I guess it works cos I know I’ve used this recipe before. Sometimes they come out crunchy, sometimes chewy, and I’m never sure why!! Mine also look a bit different from yours. I’ve never used an ice cream scoop to make them, that’s cute!
Just to add to your history bit, these biscuits are called Anzacs because they were sent to the troops in the war, in their food supplies. They didn’t contain any egg and were good energy boosts, and lasted a long time. We continued to make them after the war, and the veterans probably enjoyed that too. (I’m from Tassie.)
Where did you get the golden syrup? I can never find it here, and corn syrup isn’t the same thing. I live in the High Park/Junction/Bloor West area too – where do you get yours?
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Welcome to my blog Shannon. It’s nice to see a fellow Torontonian comment! I believe I bought the Golden Syrup at our local bulk store, Strictly Bulk in Bloor West Village http://www.strictlybulk.ca/. I think I had heard about that historical tid bit as well, I had just forgotten about it, thanks for the reminder. Thanks, hope to see you around again!
I watch how long I bake them Shannon, because they’re so heavy in sugar, the longer you bake them the crunchier and less chewy they become.
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Thanks so much for the tip, Eva! I grabbed some yesterday in time to use it in the gingerbread house I make for Christmas (it really never tasted the same/as good using corn syrup).
We tend to bake Anzacs until they spread fairly thin and turn honey-coloured, but I think the crunchiness depends on something else because they can still turn out chewy (I like ’em chewy!).
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Fantastic Shannon. A friend got her’s at Pusiteri’s but I’m sure she had to mortgage her house to buy it ;)! Merry Christmas!
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Eva, this recipe reminded me that I bought a copy of The Australian Women’s Weekly book “Beautiful Biscuits” ages ago and I went flipping through the wonderful recipes with pictures for inspiration. Too many tempting desserts in your posts lately. 🙂
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Thank you Maria. I freeze them so they are out of mind until I pack up the goodie boxes for our friends. I have one more cookie to make (a ginger snap) which flopped miserably last week (can you believe it, I forgot to put the brown sugar in it! and I wasn’t even drinking wine!).
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Last year I made the mistake of making a variety of cookies but not freezing them in manageable portions. This year I am reducing my production and only making a couple of our favourites even though there are SO many new ones I’d like to try.
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I know what you mean, Maria, I used to bake about 10-15 types of cookies, but it’s just too much when everyone is cutting down on the desserts and sugars! The 7 varieties will be plenty!
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Ah, Anzac biscuits, how I love thee! I have an Australian colleague who made some to celebrate ANZAC day last April. She also brought in some “Aussie staples” – Vegemite sandwiches and Lamingtons (yum!). I never heard of someone making Anzac biscuits for Christmas before, though it’s not like they have a flavour which isn’t delicious at any time of year! Delicious post Eva 🙂
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Hi Charles, I just can’t get into Vegemite! What are Lamingtons? I really love the chewy texture of the cookies, so why limit them to the one holiday!
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Oatmeal or no oatmeal, I believe chewy cookies are a healthy addition to any diet. 😉
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No kidding, Jed! The chewiness of the oatmeal and the coconut really make it for me. They’re in the freezer until I am ready to package up my goodies for distribution!
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I remember we made these when we were cooking from New Zealand. Mr. N loved them straight from the oven, as did I. However, he wasn’t so fond of them when they weren’t warm. Miss A on the other hand, ate them up! 🙂
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If you don’t brown them, they stay really chewy Kristy. It’s been on my Christmas baking list for years!
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As a born Kiwi and now as an Aussie, I have grown up on ANZAC biscuits. And as my grandfather was an ANZAC and spent time in the ‘Great Escape’ POW camp (4 and a half years), these biscuits are of great significance to my heritage. Congrats on promoting the cause!
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Thanks Charlie Louie. You must be so proud of your grandfather. I’ve heard of different versions of this biscuit without the coconut, does yours have coconut?
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Eva, these look amazing and I LOVE the history in them! Thanks for sharing both!
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Thanks Ann, I always think of my wonderful Mom when I bake them.
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We saw an apron today that said Christmas calories don’t count! I love this recipe and I love this line: no beating, slapping, pinching etc, just mixing.
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Greg, when I wrote that line, I thought of both you and Katherine! True story!
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I also love these. I first had Anzac cookies in Australia, so I was surprized when you first started making them. Yours are wonderful, and I always try to hide them so the girls don’t eat them on me. They are unbelievably chewy and coconuty (is that a word?). Hey I thought you said you weren’t going to bake this year? Imagine if you REALLY got into it!
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That’s so incredibly sweet, Barb, thank you! You are the real cookie queen for sure!
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I seem to remember making anzac bars but never cookies. It does have a nice assortment of ingredients though I’m not likely to make them anytime soon as the last thing I need is more items in my pantry right now. Dessicated coconut … I already have shredded coconut, then there’s sweetened versus unsweetened coconut. Just too many wonderful cookie recipes out there to make them all. 🙂
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I hear you Maria! I read the recipes and think yum, but then again, do I need it? do I want it? and can I afford it? Price and calories! (something my dad taught me, a million years ago!)
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I love cookies with coconut and oats! These look great!
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They are yummy, Angie!
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I made Anzac biscuits once for an Australian F1 racing party…we like to try and have food or drink from the hosting country…but my recipe didn’t have coconut in it. In fact, this recipe sounds much more delicious and I never knew the story behind the biscuits, so thank you! I love knowing the history behind the food!
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Interesting, Betsey; I hope Martha did her research, I’m going by what she said!
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These do look and sound good, Eva, and I do prefer a chewy cookie. 3 dozen, eh? Well, if I ration them, I’m sure they’ll last about 3 days. 🙂
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Thanks John! They are great for the Xmas goody bag!
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