Whether you’re looking for the best Anzac biscuit recipe, or you’ve never even heard of them, you’re in for a treat. Australians and New Zealanders make these simple oat cookies every Anzac Day on the 25th April, or frankly whenever they’re in the mood. This version is lower in sugar, but still gets full marks for sweetness, taste, crunch and chew factor. The best part? They’re ready in just 30 minutes!

All about Anzac biscuits

Walk into any Australian supermarket, cafe or bakery, and you’ll find Anzac biscuits. They’re the most famous and popular biscuit here.

And for very good reason! Aussies (and New Zealanders) make them every year to commemorate ANZAC Day – 25th April 1915 – the date of the first major military action that Australian and New Zealand forces fought during World War I.

The story goes that wives used to send these egg-free biscuits to their husbands fighting overseas because they travelled well and didn’t spoil easily.

So the history of this humble biscuit goes back a long way, but it also happens to be delicious – buttery, slightly caramel-y, oaty, coconut-y and crunchy and/or chewy.

Bonus – they’re really easy to make and quite hard to mess up. Even if you do ‘mess them up’, you’ll probably still end up with something quite delicious!

Pop them in the biscuit tin and they’ll last for ages. Slip one into your family’s lunchboxes and you’ll make everyone happy.

The best Anzac biscuits?

Everyone has their preference when it comes to Anzac biscuits, but the basic recipe will always be the same – oats, butter, sugar, flour and golden syrup. Here’s what I do to make the biccies to my liking.

• Brown sugar adds chewiness and caramel flavour.

• Half wholemeal flour ups the nutrition and adds a tiny bit of nuttiness.

• Reduced sugar and added honey equals just the right amount of sweetness.

• Salted butter (or unsalted plus a bit of salt) enhances the buttery, nutty, caramel-y flavours.

• Cooking at 180C/355F for 15 to 18 minutes makes for the perfect crispy-on-the-outside chewy-in-the-middle biscuits.

The good news is that you can easily continue tweaking the basic recipe according to what you have or prefer (more on this later!).

For another go-to treat for morning or afternoon tea, try these incredible 1 hour homemade cinnamon scrolls. You won’t believe how easy and gooey and yummy they are.

What you need

Happily, you only need 7 very basic ingredients to make these yummy biscuits. Add honey and wholemeal flour if you like, but neither of these changes are essential.

Butter: I use salted butter which enhances all the other flavours. It’s fine to use unsalted though if that’s what you have. Just mix a little salt into the flour instead. You can substitute with oil for a vegan/dairy free version, but don’t use margarine. Too much water content!

Golden syrup is essential to the recipe, not only for an authentic taste but to create a perfect sticky, chewy result. Find it in all Australian and UK supermarkets. In the USA? You might be able to find Lyle’s Golden Syrup at Trader Joe’s Wholefoods or Walmart. Otherwise, you can substitute with 1 part molasses to 3 parts corn syrup, rice malt syrup or even honey.

Baking soda: Add half a teaspoon for a bit of ‘lift’. Either stir it in with the golden syrup (and watch the fizz!), or dissolve it into the bit of water you’re going to add. I’ve even added it in with the dry ingredients which didn’t seem to make any difference to the final result.

Sugar: I prefer brown sugar for the taste and gooey-ness. But it’s perfectly fine to use another type of sugar. Plain white sugar, caster/fine sugar, raw cane sugar all work.

I’ve reduced the sugar in my recipe to just half a cup but added a quarter cup of honey. If you don’t have any honey, you can add another quarter cup of sugar instead. Or just stick with half a cup of sugar – the biscuits will just be slightly less sweet, that’s all.

Rolled oats: I like to use rolled oats for a chunky texture in the biscuits. Honestly, though… as this recipe is so forgiving, go ahead and use any kind of oats you like! You will find that different kinds of oats will absorb liquid differently, but it’s easy to add more liquid or flour to compensate. You’ll still end up with yummy biscuits.

Flour: I use half white plain flour and half wholemeal flour. This is personal preference for better nutrition and taste. There’s nothing wrong with using all white flour if that’s all you have. Spelt flour works well too.

Coconut: Dessicated or flaked coconut – take your pick. If you’d rather go coconut-less, or don’t have any in the pantry, just skip it altogether. If your mixture seems too wet, just sprinkle in a few more oats or more flour.

Got leftover golden syrup? Make sticky apple and ginger cake, Eton Mess fridge cake or gingerbread muffins!

How to make Anzac biscuits

Anzac biscuits are SO easy to make in just a few minutes and a few simple steps. This makes them perfect for beginner bakers, fans of quick and easy recipes, or for making with children!

Step 1: Melt butter either in a saucepan or in a big bowl in the microwave.

Step 2: Add the rest of the ‘wet’ ingredients (golden syrup & honey and 2 tablespoons water. Also add the baking soda at this point and watch the fizz!

Step 3: Tip in all of the ‘dry’ ingredients (flour(s), sugar, coconut). Stir to make a wet – but not sloppy – dough. If the dough’s too wet, add more oats/flour. If it’s too dry, add a trickle more water.

Step 5: Place small balls of dough on a baking tray – spaced well apart. 8 or 9 to a tray is about right. Press down a bit with your hands or a fork.

Step 6: Bake for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on how crunchy or chewy you’d like your biscuits to be! Let cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. The biscuits will crisp up as they cool.

Crispy, chewy, or crispy-chewy?

My favourite Anzacs are crispy on the outside, and chewy on the inside.

There’s no ‘right’ way for them to be. Many have suggested tweaks to the basic recipe to achieve a crispier or chewier biscuit, but it’s mostly down to the cooking time.

For crunchy Anzac biscuits, bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until dark golden – but not burnt of course!

For chewy Anzac biscuits, bake for just 12 to 14 minutes, until just lightly golden.

The thickness of the biscuits can make a difference, too. If you like crispy biscuits, flatten them a little more before baking. If you like chewier biscuits, don’t flatten the balls of dough much – let them spread out by themselves. If you like you can even try refrigerating the dough balls first to keep the biscuits ‘chunkier’.

You may need to experiment a bit with your exact ingredients and oven to get the perfect ratio of crisp to chew!

Store your biscuits in an airtight container (a metal tin is perfect). You’ll find that even crunchy Anzac biscuits do get softer as the days go by. But there’s a sneaky way to crisp them up! Just pop them in the oven for 5 minutes, let them cool, and hey presto you’ll have crispy biscuits again.

Fun ways to eat them

As with all classic recipes, you don’t need to do anything to make Anzac biscuits better than they already are. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a bit of fun with them. Here are some ideas:

• Add a sneaky teaspoon of ground ginger to the mixture before baking. Ginger biscuit, anyone?

• Melt some dark chocolate in a glass jug (microwave will do the trick). Dip the biscuits in so that half is covered with chocolate. Alternatively sandwich two together with chocolate or ganache.

• Sandwich two biscuits together with your favourite ice cream and you have an Anzac biscuit ice cream sandwich. Don’t mind if I do.

• Crumble leftovers over halved stone fruit, apples or pears and bake until the fruit is soft and the topping browned.

• Treat as a sort of fancy granola by crumbling over yoghurt and fruit.

Recipe tips & FAQ

Curious about baking in your air fryer? Try this popular air fryer mini banana bread!

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