As an avid tennis fan who watched the Australian Open grand slam tournament last month, this next batch wasn’t a tough choice. The Anzac Biscuit is a popular biscuit in Australia and New Zealand, long associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) that was formed during World War I. Consisting of rolled oats, flour, sugar, unsweetened coconut, butter, and either golden corn syrup or honey, these biscuits were sent by wives and women’s groups to the soldiers overseas as the ingredients do not spoil easily and keep well in transit. Makes sense as there are no eggs in the modern version recipe (earlier recipes did include eggs, fruit, or jam). Although the origin of what country they came from is contested by Australia and New Zealand, Anzac biscuits are still used as a fundraising item leading up to Anzac Day which is on April 25^th. As the Anzac biscuit is protected by regulations, they must only be called “biscuits” or “slice” and never “cookies”. Today, they are commercially sold in Australia, New Zealand, as well as in the UK. 

Instead of looking for the recipe on the Internet, I used one from the cookbook, Cooking the Australian Way, that I got from my mom prior to my trip to Australia many years ago. Despite bookmarking a few recipes, this is the first time I actually made something from this cookbook. For those interested in making these, here’s the recipe I used:

• 1 c. rolled oats
• ¾ c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 c. sugar
• ½ c. butter or margarine (I used butter)
• 1 tbsp. honey or light corn syrup (I used honey)
• 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
• 2 tbsp. boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 300°F
2. Measure the oats, coconut, flour, and sugar in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir well.
3. In a small pan over medium-low heat, melt butter or margarine and stir in honey or corn syrup.
4. Place baking soda in a cup or small bowl. Pour boiling water over baking soda and stir to dissolve. Add to melted butter mixture.
5. Pour butter mixture over oat mixture. Mix well.
6. Cover two baking sheets with kitchen parchment paper or aluminum foil (dull side up). Drop teaspoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto sheets.
7. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until biscuits spread and are evenly browned. 
8. Cool biscuits on a baking sheet for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove with a spatula and finish cooling on wire racks.

So how did mine turn out??

As I never tried Anzac Biscuits while I was visiting Australia, I’m not sure if mine turned out the same way as theirs would. Taste-wise they’re sweet and yummy, but texture-wise they came out very thin and flat – not at all like the picture in the cookbook (see below). My first 2 batches were extremely thin, but I thought it was because I didn’t use enough dough. I then increased the amount of dough for the last 2 batches, and that just made them bigger and thin. Overall, I’m not entirely thrilled with how they turned out and will most likely not attempt to make them again (apologies to Australia and New Zealand). 

Although this batch didn’t meet my expectations, this experiment of mine is exactly that – an experiment. And like many experiments, or batches in this case, they don’t always turn out how you would expect them to be. 

Next time, I’ll be celebrating Lunar New Year with a traditional Chinese almond cookie. 

References

1. Germaine, E. and Burckhardt, A.L., “Anzac Biscuits”, Cooking the Australian Way, by Lerner Publications Company, 2004, pg. 41
2. “Anzac Biscuit”, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation. 27 Jan 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_biscuit