Do you like ’em soft and chewy? Or is thin and crispy more your thing? What about dark and crunchy? It’s the great Anzac biscuit debate that re-emerges every April of each year.
According to taste.com.au Food Editor Miranda Payne, the traditional Anzac biscuit was the harder, crunchy version. Over time, the original recipe was modified with variations being cooked for less time (making them chewier) or adding more sugar (so they’re super crispy). “My preference is an Anzac that is crispy and crunchy, and that can be dunked in a cup of tea,” she says.
No matter your preference, we’ve discovered the science behind the perfect Anzac biscuit and all you need is one recipe (and three simple variations).
Take a look below and solve all those Anzac bikkie arguments in one recipe.
Classic Anzac biscuit recipe
Ingredients:
150g (1 cup) plain flour
90g (1 cup) rolled oats
85g (1 cup) desiccated coconut
100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
125g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Method:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 160C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
Step 2
Combine flour, oats, coconut and combined sugar in a large bowl.
Step 3
Stir the butter, golden syrup and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Add to the oat mixture and stir until well combined.
Step 4
Roll level tablespoonfuls of the oat mixture into balls and place, about 5cm apart, on the prepared trays. Flatten until about 1cm thick. Bake, swapping trays halfway through cooking, for 15 minutes or until light golden. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Should Anzac biscuits be crunchy or chewy or crispy?
This is the beauty of this recipe. You can tweak it three different ways to get whichever outcome you want.
For soft and chewy Anzac biscuits
Omit the brown sugar and increase the caster sugar to 155g (3/4 cup). Cooking time stays the same.
For dark and crunchy Anzac biscuits
Omit caster sugar and increase the brown sugar to 155g (3/4 cup, firmly packed). Bake for 18 minutes.
For thin and crispy Anzac biscuits
Omit the caster sugar and increase the brown sugar to 200g (1 cup). Reduce the flour to 115g (3/4 cup). Cooking time stays the same.
The history of Anzac biscuits
They date back to World War I and were eaten by Aussie troops on the shores of Gallipoli and the fields of Flanders. The original Anzac biscuit was known as an Anzac wafer or tile and, along with beef bully, was part of the rations given to our soldiers during World War I. They were included instead of bread because they had a much longer shelf-life.
Originally, they were so hard they were virtually inedible. Soon enough, the mothers, wives and girlfriends of Australian troops back home got wind of this and, concerned that their boys were not getting enough nutrients, gradually developed the recipe for what we know of today as the Anzac biscuit.
Why are they called Anzac biscuits?
ANZAC stands for “Australian and New Zealand Army Corps”. As these biscuits were made for and shipped to these soldiers to provide both comfort and nourishment, they were named after them.
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