Anzac biscuits were first made in Australia to send to soldiers during the First World War. Essentially, they are buttery cookies made with oats and coconut, crisp and crunchy, with a slight chewiness (more on that later) and taste of caramel and toffee and are really magical for a fairly basic recipe. Let’s bake!
I happened to have rolled oats and was wondering what to make with them when I came across this King Arthur Flour recipe. I decided to halve it (because packed freezer problems during lockdown!) and see how they turn out. Anzac cookies involve stirring baking soda into a mixture of hot butter and honey to create a light texture. Some recipes mix the soda with boiling water, some do it all in one pan, and that’s what I did too. The less dishes the better!
The first time I made them, I rolled the cookies quite large and they were more chewy than crispy. Oats do provide chewiness anyway and you’ll find multiple versions of Anzac biscuits depending on how the baker likes them, soft and chewy or crisp and crunchy. I still don’t know what the original, authentic texture was meant to be, but I like a good mix of the two.
So the second time around, I used less oats, made smaller cookies, didn’t chill the soft, buttery dough and let them spread so they got more crisp, plus used less baking soda to ensure they didn’t have too much of a puffy texture.
These cookies are skinny and crunchy with a slight chew in the center and I loved this contrast. I used honey instead of the traditional golden syrup and love how the flavour comes through with the butter, it’s toasty and delicious! The coconut is subtle but very much there and adds to the texture in leaps and bounds.
But if you’re looking for a thicker cookie with a bit of a bite, then roll the chilled dough into larger portions which doesn’t let them spread as much. These cookies are softer, with a crisp texture on the sides. And they look like this!
Basically, this is a choose your own adventure kind of recipe, and I love that. Whichever way you go, I do recommend storing the baked cookies in the fridge at all times, to prevent the oats from absorbing too much moisture and softening the cookies (especially in humid weather). I find they taste even better when you eat them cold from the fridge! I hope you’ll try a batch today 🙂
Please read the recipe notes before beginning.
Anzac Biscuits (Coconut Oat Cookies)
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup rolled oats (30 gms)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (60 gms)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened grated coconut (15 gms)
- 1/3 cup caster sugar (60 gms)
- Pinch of salt if using unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp water
- 50 gms butter
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 C and line a baking tray with a silicone mat or non-stick baking paper (or grease the tray itself, but I find paper or mat easier here as the cookies tend to stick).
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the oats, flour, coconut, sugar and salt.
- Now in a saucepan on low heat, combine the honey, water and butter, stirring until the butter has melted and the mixture is bubbling. Stir in the baking soda and it will rise and froth up a little.
- Pour this into the mixing bowl, and stir it all together. The dough is soft and sticky.
- For crispy cookies Scoop one-tablespoon portions of the dough onto the prepared tray, and lightly flatten the tops. Make sure there's at least two inches between each. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes (crispy to extra crispy), rotating the tray halfway through to ensure even browning. The cookies will be a deep brown. They are crisp almost all over with a slight chew in the center.
- For chewy cookies Chill the dough for 20 minutes, then scoop 1.5 tablespoon portions of dough (a cookie scoop helps) and place them two inches apart on the baking tray. Lightly flatten the tops and bake for 18 to 20 minutes until deeply browned, rotating the tray halfway through.
- Whichever way you make them (see photos above for the difference), let the cookies cool completely on the tray and firm up. Once cooled, I recommend storing them in the fridge so that the oats don't absorb moisture and go soft (in humid areas particularly). They will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge. Happy baking!
Notes
These are called ANZAC biscuits. They are never referred to as cookies in any sense. Thanks.
hi I want to try bake it. is it the cup unit is it US cup unit ? i need to convert to gram.
Hi, I use US cup measures and I’m updating older posts on the blog with weight measures. Here’s the chart I use https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart
Hi I am very excited to try these biscuits, I have one question, could they be stored in freezers please?
Hi! Yes they sure can 🙂 cookies can usually be frozen around a month !
The anzac biscuits came out perfectly. I used twice the amount in the recipe to get more number of biscuits. They are very moreish. Am going to try them again. Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! So happy to hear that 🙂
Hi- This recipe looks great and cant wait to try…Quick question : For Grated coconut is it better to use the packaged version available online or do you suggest grating a fresh coconut at home for this?
Thanks
Ridhi
I used a packaged version but freshly grated is fine too 🙂
Do I need to increase the amount of coconut if I were to use the freshly grated?
Nope, the same amount should be fine
G’day, sorry to be pedantic but you technically cannot call them anything other than biscuits according to Australian Department of Veteran Affairs. Cookie is an American word and is considered so ‘un-Australian’ in this instance, you can be fined if you sell them as such commercially. It’s like calling dosa, crepes or worse, pancakes. The traditional recipe also calls for golden syrup, not honey. It tastes better btw.
Hi Joanna! I appreciate what you’re saying as dosas being called crepes bugs me too! Unfortunately golden syrup isn’t easily available or known in India and the concept of ANZAC biscuits isn’t known either, so this is a simplified version so that more of us living here can understand what they are and make them with what we have. I’ve spent a year in Australia and ate a lot of the authentic ones there and loved them!
Hi can I use Quaker oats as rolled oats aren’t available due to the lockdown
The cookies will be softer and will not have much texture if you use the instant or quick cooking type oats , so you may need to bake them longer
Hi, my friend made these recently and she loved them. I want to try them out too..: the only issue is I don’t have grated coconut And Baking soda at home. My questions –
1. Can I substitute grated coconut with coconut powder?
2. Can I use 1-1.5 tsp of baking powder to substitute for baking soda in the recipe?
Please suggest, Gayatri…
Coconut powder will not have the same texture, but it might work. Normally you shouldn’t substitute baking powder and soda, they are a little different, but again, try it out keeping in mind that the flavour and texture might change a bit. This might help https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/baking-powder-vs-baking-soda/