Learn how to make classic Australian Anzac Biscuits. These chewy cookies are filled with rolled oats and sweetened with golden syrup. They’re egg-free and easy to make! No mixer needed and no chilling the dough.
Anzac Biscuits for the win 🙌🏻
What a treat! These buttery biscuits are an Aussie staple and it’s not hard to see why. Thick and chunky, these chewy cookies are made using rolled oats, coconut and golden syrup.
Quick and easy, they’re ready to eat in just 30 minutes.
Growing up in Australia, we love a good Anzac Biscuit for morning or afternoon tea – along with Melting Moments, Lamingtons and Coconut Jam Slice. And while you can buy half decent pre-packaged Anzac Biscuits at the supermarket, these homemade ones taste so much better!
There’s something about that perfect blend of crisp corners, a buttery centre and chewy oats in every bite, that make these biscuits one of the best going around.
They are similar in taste to an American Oatmeal Cookie, but the method in how they are made differs. This recipe requires you to make a buttery caramel on the stovetop that is then poured over the dry ingredients. It helps create those sticky edges!
What are Anzac biscuits?
Anzac Biscuits are an oat cookie made using golden syrup. They usually boast crispy edges and a chewy centre. They’re an Australian favourite!
Why you will love these cookies
- They’re quick and easy to make
- No chilling the dough
- They’re egg free
What is golden syrup?
Golden syrup is a thick treacle made from cane sugar. It’s thick, amber in colour, and sweet in flavour. You can often find it in the supermarket or specialty stores. If you don’t have access to golden syrup, you can’t leave it out of this recipe. You could try treacle, honey or maple syrup – the flavour won’t quite be the same, but they should still be delicious. Or try my Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies.
What oats should I use?
Use whole rolled oats for this recipe – not quick oats. The oats provide texture and chew!
How to make Anzac biscuits
- Start by adding the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl, including plain or all purpose flour, rolled oats, desiccated coconut, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Don’t add the baking soda just yet!
- In a medium saucepan, add butter, golden syrup and vanilla extract. Place on medium heat, stirring, until butter is melted. Remove from the heat, and add baking soda. Keep stirring for another 30 seconds or so until the baking soda is completely mixed through. The mixture might get a little foamy – this is fine.
- Pour butter mixture over dry ingredients and stir until completely covered. Then take spoonfuls of the cookie dough and shape into balls using your hands. Flatten the cookies and place on cookie trays – keeping in mind the cookies will still spread a little more when baked.
- Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes or until golden. They may appear underdone but like most cookies, they will firm up as they cool. If you prefer a crisp cookie, bake for a minute or two longer.
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Let’s Bake
Anzac Biscuits
Thick and chewy Anzac Biscuits made with rolled oats, coconut and golden syrup.
Ingredients
- 140 grams (1 cup) plain or all purpose flour
- 100 grams (1 cup) rolled oats
- 135 grams (3/4 cup) brown sugar
- 50 grams (1/2 cup) desiccated coconut
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 115 grams (1 stick / 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, roughly chopped
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) golden syrup*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Line two cookie pans with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, oats, sugar, coconut, cinnamon and salt. Give it a quick mix.
- In a medium saucepan, add butter, golden syrup and vanilla. Place on a medium heat and stir until butter has melted and mixture is smooth.
- Remove from heat and immediately add baking soda. Keep stirring for 30 seconds or so until baking soda is completely mixed through. Mixture may bubble and foam slightly – this is fine.
- Pour butter mixture over dry ingredients and stir until completely coated. Working quickly, scoop balls of dough, roughly 1.5 tablespoons each, and roll them smooth using your hands.
- Gently flatten the cookie dough balls until they’re about 1/2 inch thick. Place on baking trays, leaving room for the cookies to spread out.
- Bake in the oven for approximately 11-12 minutes. Keep in mind the cookies will harden as they cool.
- Leave cookies to cool for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
*Golden syrup: Golden syrup is an important ingredient in this recipe. I highly recommend trying to find it online or at a specialty store if you don’t have regular access to it. Alternatively, you could try using maple syrup, honey or treacle (or a combination of each) instead. The flavour won’t quite be the same, but the result should be similar.
B says
they taste amazing. thank you so much!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Sam says
Hi Jess, these looks so good. I’m not a big fan of coconut, so just wanted to ask whether it’s a strong taste? Or whether I could substitute the coconut for something else? ☺️ Thanks so much x
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sam, excited you are going to try these! No the coconut doesn’t offer a super strong flavour, almost more texture. But if you’d prefer to leave it out, I’d add two extra tablespoons of flour (30 grams). Hope that helps!
Melissa says
So easy to make these ANZAC day cookies. Jess, I absolutely love your no blender recipes and how are hassle-free your recipes are. Also that they don’t require fancy ingredients! I baked these today my little one came in to “crush” the cookies with a fork 🙂 Smell and taste so good! Thank you 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Aww I’m so happy to hear that Melissa! Thank you so much for the lovely feedback. Love that you were able to get your little one helping too!
Thao says
Anzac day coming up on Monday, planning to make these. I was wondering….if I use brown butter, do I replace it 1:1 ratio? Would it affect the texture of the cookies? Thanks Jessica.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Thao, excited you are going to try these. Yes brown butter should work, I would just use the gram amount (115 grams) to make sure the final result is the same.
Shree says
Hello,
These look amazing can I use light brown sugar?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes definitely!
Carla says
Hello! Made this recipe today and although measured the ingredients, the dough was kínd of grease. And the cookies were flat 🤔.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Carla, I’m surprised to hear that. Did you measure the ingredients using a baking scale?
Nicola says
The flavour of these is gorgeous and they’re super fast to pull together! My one stumbling block was with the dryness of the mix; they’re super crumbly and it was tricky to shape them without falling apart. Well worth the tiny extra bit of work, though!
★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Nicola. If the mix was a bit dry, you might have added too much flour and/or oats. I highly recommend using a scale to measure out those ingredients. It’s also important to act quick, as the longer the mix sits, the more it’ll soak up the butter. Appreciate your feedback!
Martina says
Hello ! I made a lot of then, can I put in the frizzer ?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes!
Lotte says
Absolutely delicious Jessica!!! Husband and kids couldn’t get enough of them!! Many thanks from The Netherlands 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Yaaay! Love hearing that Lotte!
Hannah says
Hi Jess, I only have one cookie pan but if I only bake half of the mixture, the remaining dough will become hard. Any suggestions as to what I can do?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Hannah, if you scoop half the cookies and then bake them, you can then use the 10 minutes while they are baking to scoop the remaining half so they’re good to go. It is best not to bake cookies on a hot cookie pan though as it can cause them to spread too much. Perhaps there’s another oven tray or baking tin you could use for the remaining cookie dough.
Hajrah says
Hi I wanted to make these cookies but was wondering if I added chocolate chips or walnuts would it make any difference to the cookie structure or baking time?
Would really appreciate ur feedback!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, I think that should be fine! A lovely addition I think!
Hajrah says
Thank u for ur reply!Making my cookies today!
Patricia says
First of all thank you for a recipe that works. The last time I made these biscuits from another recipe they spread far and wide and I had one large chewy inedible mass! These are holding their shape nicely. Not too much spread.
The raw mixture tastes pretty good too!
Also in answer to the comment about the mixture being hard and crumbly, this technique of melted golden syrup and bicarbonate is the method for making honeycomb which sets pretty quickly once it’s mixed. I wonder if the previous reader may have left it too long as you said and it’s started to solidify like honeycomb
I rolled mine fairly quickly and easily.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So happy you enjoyed them Patricia! Thank you so much for the kind review!
Sharlene says
I’ve just put mine in the oven but despite my measuring out the ingredients perfectly, the mixture was crumbly and hard to mould together into balls. Then when I went to press them flat most of the cracked and broke up. Is there a way to improve on this? Thanks
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sharlene, did you measure the dry ingredients in grams? I haven’t had that happen when testing these cookies. Did you start rolling them as soon as you added the wet butter mixture? If you leave the cookie dough for any length of time the butter will start to harden again, making it difficult to roll.
Sharlene says
Hi Jessica thanks for your reply, I did measure in grams, it’s our standard here in Ireland 🙂
I will try to roll them even quicker next time.
Either way they turned out delicious and my family are currently eating them for breakfast! Great recipe
Thank you
S
Jessica Holmes says
Aw glad to hear that. You could try adding a little extra butter next time.
Karen smith says
I’ve tried a few recipe for anzac biccies and this is the best my far
I just made some. Gorgeous.
I wasn’t sure if middle shelf or next one up so went for the one above ( my oven is cooler)
Gas 5. Or 180 for ten mins. Golden brown
London Uk
I used flora plant butter ( it was all I had ) worked fine with that too. Although I’m sure if it was dairy butter they would taste even better
I also used my mixer to mix. So quick
Just one problem. One fell into my mouth already whilst warm.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you loved them Karen! Thank you for the lovely feedback.
Els says
I made them this morning and they are SO good! I made balls of 60 grams each and baked them in two different batches – the first batch was baked at 180°C for 12 minutes but they were slightly burnt. The second batch was baked at 170°C for 11 minutes and they were perfect! Crispy edges, a chewy centre and loads of flavour! I’m definitely making these again!
Jessica Holmes says
Amazing! So glad you enjoyed them!!
Jane says
Cookies look great and I want to try them, but I have a basic question… is the dessicated coconut you’re calling for just shredded unsweetened coconut?? In other recipes, your choc coconut slice, for example, you have listed shredded coconut as an ingredient. Is this just sweetened shredded coconut?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Jane, excited you are going to try these. Good question, desiccated coconut is finely ground coconut, while shredded coconut is in longer strips. Both should be unsweetened. If you don’t have access to desiccated coconut, you could use shredded coconut, the coconut will just be more pronounced in the cookies, or you could try whizzing up some shredded coconut in a food processor to make it a little finer. Hope that helps!