30-Minute ANZAC Biscuits (crisp & buttery)

These super-addictive ANZAC biscuits (or cookies, as we call them in the U.S.) get their signature caramelized edges from golden syrup and light, crisp texture from oats and shredded coconut. They're naturally egg-free and easy to make in under 30 minutes.

I've added a gluten-free variation of this beloved recipe that uses sweet rice and oat flours, and the texture is every bit as lovely as the originals. Make them vegan by using plant butter. I hope you enjoy them!

I have a thing for oatmeal cookies of all kinds. Soft and chewy gluten-free oatmeal cookies are one of my favorite things to bake and eat, especially when they're loaded with chocolate. But ANZACs are a different kind of oatmeal cookie.

They're baked until crisp and caramelized. They don't contain any egg. And they're flecked with bits of shredded coconut that add richness and crunch.

My first encounter with ANZACs came while working as a barista in my early 20s, I noticed a curious cookie begin to turn up in our morning pastry boxes called ANZACs. Nobody understood the name of these cookies, but we did get that they were curiously tasty, packed with oats and shredded coconut. I recall them being soft and chewy, mild in flavor, and pale golden in color.

When someone penciled in "Australian New Zealand Army Corps" on their display label, I thought it was a prank from a fellow barista, like the time one worker wrote "Goetse Danish" on the Cherry Danish label, and snickered when an elderly customer unwittingly ordered one.

One day a British customer enlightened me: ANZAC really was an acronym for the above, and they were called biscuits rather than cookies, in the British sense of the word, meaning not the fluffy quickbread with which we Americans are familiar, but any small, sweet cookie.

Since I remembered liking the Anzacs at Farley's, I decided to try a recipe I came across in Mani Niall's Sweet!, a book that deliciously explores all manner of sweeteners. The recipe for Anzacs is legally protected by the Australian and New Zealand governments, and Aussies and Kiwis alike seem to go up in arms (hopefully not literally) when their national recipe is tampered with, or when the biscuits are called 'cookies' (by pesky Americans, no doubt).

I did make three teeny, tiny changes to the recipe, though, which I pray will not arouse the wrath of anyone down-under (I hear they can be pretty feisty): I decreased the sugar just a bit, subbed some whole spelt flour for the all-purpose, and added a touch of salt. I kind of have a thing for salt in and on my cookies, and I'm confidant that the addition caused the biscuits to taste extra-addictive. In fact, Jay dubbed these "ANZ-Cracks."

So I mixed up the dough, which happily requires merely melting the butter and syrup together, dissolving the baking soda in a bit of boiling water, and stirring everything up in a big bowl. The cookies get scooped into balls, then flattened into discs and baked. Unlike the coffeeshop ANZACS (which I suspect did not contain golden syrup), these biscuits baked up deeply orange-brown, and firmed up to a candy-like crispness when cool.

The oats and coconut give the cookies a lightness that reminds me of a cross between the wheaty digestive biscuits I enjoyed in England and a crisp granola bar, only more dessert-like than either.

Purportedly, Anzacs were created for Australian and New Zealand soldiers during the first world war, and their ingredients kept them fresh for long periods of time. Unlike other drop cookies, Anzacs contain no eggs, as there was a shortage of poultry farmers during that time. Another characteristic that sets Anzacs apart is the addition of golden syrup, which caramelizes in the oven, turning the cookies a deep orange-brown. Golden syrup is becoming increasingly easy to find in the states, but you can order it if you need an authentic ANZAC fix.

I had never tasted golden syrup on its own before, but I found some at Rainbow Co-Op in San Francisco recently and snapped it up. A thick sweetener made from boiling cane sugar down until it turns golden and takes on a toffee-like flavor, it has the smooth, mildness of corn syrup, minus the scariness. I'm itching to find out what else I can use it in - ice cream? Pecan pie? Treacle Tart?

(If you have any ideas, let me know.)

*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram,  Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this anzac biscuit recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet  and  #bojongourmet.*

5 from 2 reviews

30-Minute ANZAC Biscuits (crisp & buttery)

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These super-addictive ANZAC biscuits get their signature caramelized edges from golden syrup and light, crisp texture from oats and shredded coconut. They're naturally egg-free and easy to make in under 30 minutes.

I've added a gluten-free variation of this beloved recipe that uses sweet rice and oat flours.

Alanna Taylor-Tobin

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 3" cookies.

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• ½ cup (70 g) all-purpose flour*
• ½ cup (70 g) whole spelt or whole wheat pastry flour*
• 1 cup (100 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup (75 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (125 g) organic granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

Wet Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter (or plant butter)
• 2 tablespoons (40 g) Lyle's golden syrup (or honey)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons boiling water
• a few pinches of flaky salt, such as Maldon

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Instructions

Prepare things

• Position a rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat to 350º. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make the dough

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, coconut, sugar and salt.
• Melt the butter and golden syrup together in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally.
• Place the baking soda in a small bowl and stir in the boiling water. Stir the baking soda mixture into the butter mixture, then stir the butter mixture into the flour mixture to combine. You will have a fairly firm dough.

Shape

• Scoop the dough into walnut-sized balls (about 1 inch in diameter; I use a #40 spring-loaded ice cream scoop with the purple handland place them 3-4 inches apart on the baking sheet - you will only be able to fit 8 on each sheet. Use your palm to flatten the cookies to 2" discs. Sprinkle a tiny pinch of flaky salt over each cookie before baking.

Bake

• Bake the cookies until they turn an orangey-golden-brown all over, 10-14 minutes, rotating once during the baking time. Note that these bake longer than a typical oatmeal cookie and they turn caramelized and crunchy rather than soft and underbaked.
• Use a thin, metal spatula to remove the cookies to racks to cool. The cookies will be firm-soft when warm, but should crisp up when cool.
• Repeat with the remaining dough and cookies.

Storage

• ANZACs keep well for up to several weeks, stored in an airtight container at room temperature – if you can make them last that long!

Notes

• Adapted from Sweet!
• These cookies bake longer than regular drop cookies; when ready, they will turn an orangey-brown all over, and, when cooled, should firm up to a crisp and crunchy texture.
• Lyle's Golden Syrup gives these cookies their characteristic color and flavor; I have yet to hear of an adequate substitute.

*For gluten-Free ANZACs, omit the flours and use instead: 

• ½ cup (78 g) sweet rice flour
• ½ cup GF oat flour (50 g)
• 2 tablespoons (14 g) tapioca flour

Though not traditional, these are delicious with 1/2 cup dried fruit added into the batter such as dried cranberries (CRANZACs??), currants, tart cherries, or a combination. For the best spread, plump the dried fruit in a little boiling water first, then drain and squeeze out the extra liquid before stirring them into the finished dough.

Nutritional values are based on one of twenty four cookies.

Nutrition

Calories: 112kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 1gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 98mgPotassium: 45mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 120IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 5mgIron: 0.5mg

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!