These chewy, oh so delicious Anzac biscuits are an Aussie classic. There’s no better way to have a cup of tea than with one of these.
Why are my ANZAC biscuits too hard?
If your ANZAC biscuits are too hard, they are most likely over-cooked. Like most biscuits, ANZAC biscuits will be soft when they’re first removed from the oven, but they firm up once cooled. You may also find that your baking tray impacts how quickly they cook. Heavier-based baking trays retain more heat, which will give your biscuits a darker base and cook them more quickly, so always keep an eye on your bikkies.
What if the biscuit batter is too dry?
The beauty of ANZAC biscuits is how fast they are to make, so don’t be tempted to leave the dough sitting around for a few hours before baking. Ensure your butter mixture is still warm when you add it to the dry ingredients. Oats, as we know, are good at absorbing moisture, so if you make your dough and then leave it for too long before baking, it will start to dry out. So bake off your dough as soon as you make it. If you want to prep ahead, you can measure your dry ingredients into a bowl to speed up the process.
If your dough is dry as you’re making it, try adding a tablespoon of water or a little extra butter until it comes back together (don’t add too much, just a little at a time)
Why are my Anzac biscuits super flat?
If your ANZAC biscuits are too flat, the most likely cause is that you’ve accidentally used quick cook oats instead of traditional oats, which will cause biscuits to spread more when baked. If you’ve mis-measured your butter and accidentally added too much, this will also make your Anzac biscuits spread too much and become flat.
How to adjust this Anzac biscuit recipe to make it chewy vs crunchy?
You can swap the type of sugar to change the biscuit’s result. Using caster sugar will give a slightly chewier result, while brown sugar will give a slightly crisper result. A half-half combination of the two is also delicious! Reducing the cooking time slightly will give you a chewier result as well; cook for 2-3 minutes less than the specified time.
Classic Anzac biscuit recipe
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C. Line two oven trays with baking paper or try these silicone baking mats instead.
In a medium saucepan melt butter and golden syrup on medium heat.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine bicarb and boiling water. Stir bicarb mixture into melted butter mixture (mixture will foam).
In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, coconut and sugar. Pour in the melted butter mixture and stir to combine.
Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls and arrange on trays, allowing space for spreading (see note).
Press down on balls to flatten on the tray.
Bake 12-15 minutes until just golden (biscuits will still be soft but will harden on cooling). Cool on trays.
Cooks notes
- It’s important you use traditional oats and not quick cook oats
- For chewy ANZAC biscuits, use caster sugar. For crunchier ANZAC biscuits, use brown sugar. You can also use half of each.
- Depending on the size of your oven trays, you may need to cook in batches. ANZAC biscuits will spread, so it’s important you allow space in between each biscuit before baking, so it doesn’t turn into one giant cookie
- If your oven has the element at the base, swap the tray positions halfway through cooking to ensure even heating.
Anzac biscuit FAQs
These treats would often have to endure a lengthy journey (sometimes lasting several months), so it was important to select a recipe with ingredients that would not spoil easily. Traditional Anzac biscuits were made with rolled oats, sugar, plain flour, coconut, butter, golden syrup or treacle, bicarb soda, and boiling water. A recipe without eggs made the perfect candidate for the task, although they weren’t officially labelled Anzac biscuits until the 1920s.
Traditionally, Anzac biscuits were actually quite crisp and crunchy, although this recipe gives you a deliciously chewy Anzac biscuit.
For those who prefer their bickies crunchy, add another 3 minutes to the cooking time for the desired crunch.
Baking soda is the secret ingredient that adds moisture to the biscuits without adding any extra grease.
If you have honey, treacle or molasses in your pantry, they all make good substitutions for golden syrup.
Other Anzac biscuit recipes
In the years since, many have put their spin on this classic recipe – creating macadamia, lime and white chocolate Anzac biscuits and even a chocolate caramel Anzac slice.
There are so many great variations out there, so if you’re looking to add a bit of fancy to your afternoon treat, why not give one a go?
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You might also enjoy making these gluten-free Anzac biscuits
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