Anzac Biscuits
A golden, crunchy biscuit with rolled oats and coconut, bound with golden syrup. Eggless, it keeps for ages: Australia's travelling and storage biscuit.
A golden, crunchy biscuit with rolled oats and coconut, bound with golden syrup. Eggless, it keeps for ages: Australia's travelling and storage biscuit.
These little biscuits, my mum would bake whole batches and we'd store them in the tin on the shelf. No eggs in them, you see, that's the secret: it stops them going off, and they'd keep for weeks — that's why they sent them to the lads off at war. Golden syrup, oats, coconut, and bicarb that makes it all fizz. At smoko, with a strong cuppa, there was nothing better. Crunchy or chewy? That's still a family feud right there.
- •Rolled oats — one cup (base)
- •Flour — one cup (structure)
- •Desiccated coconut — one cup (flavour and texture)
- •Sugar — one cup (sweetener)
- •Golden syrup — two spoonfuls (binder and flavour — the signature)
- •Butter — 125 g (fat)
- •Bicarbonate of soda — one teaspoon (leavening)
Anzac Biscuits
A golden, crunchy biscuit with rolled oats and coconut, bound with golden syrup. Eggless, it keeps for ages: Australia's travelling and storage biscuit.
Why this dish? Anzac biscuits, made with oats, coconut, and golden syrup, without eggs, were designed to travel and keep for a long time — they were sent to Australian soldiers during the Great War. For a working-class Balmain family like Dawn's, they were the smoko biscuit, homemade, cheap, and lasting weeks in the tin.
These little biscuits, my mum would bake whole batches and we'd store them in the tin on the shelf. No eggs in them, you see, that's the secret: it stops them going off, and they'd keep for weeks — that's why they sent them to the lads off at war. Golden syrup, oats, coconut, and bicarb that makes it all fizz. At smoko, with a strong cuppa, there was nothing better. Crunchy or chewy? That's still a family feud right there.
Ingredients (period version)
- Rolled oats — one cup (base)
- Flour — one cup (structure)
- Desiccated coconut — one cup (flavour and texture)
- Sugar — one cup (sweetener)
- Golden syrup — two spoonfuls (binder and flavour — the signature)
- Butter — 125 g (fat)
- Bicarbonate of soda — one teaspoon (leavening)
Ingredients
- Rolled oats — 90 g (base)
- Plain flour — 150 g (structure)
- Desiccated coconut — 85 g (flavour and texture)
- Sugar — 100 g (sweetener)
- Golden syrup — 2 tbsp (binder and flavour — the signature)
- Butter — 125 g (fat)
- Bicarbonate of soda — 1 tsp (leavening)
- Boiling water — 2 tbsp (activates the bicarb)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160°C. Mix oats, flour, coconut, and sugar in a bowl.
- Gently melt the butter with the golden syrup in a saucepan.
- Dissolve the bicarb in the boiling water, add to the melted butter (it will foam), then pour into the dry ingredients. Mix.
- Form small balls, place them spaced apart on a tray, and flatten slightly.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden. They will harden as they cool.
- Cool completely before storing in an airtight container: they keep for one to two weeks.
How it was made : The name "ANZAC" refers to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps of World War I. The absence of eggs (scarce and perishable) and the use of golden syrup ensured long shelf life and safe transport to the front. The recipe remained a classic Australian snack throughout the 20th century.
The contemporary twist : Dip half of each biscuit in dark chocolate — sacrilege for purists, delight for others.
Sources : Reeves, Allison — The Anzac Biscuit (Australian War Memorial archives) · Newling, Jacqui — Eat Your History (2015)
Dawn Fraser · Charactorium
