Anzac Biscuits - The BEST recipe - Just a Mum's Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

What makes Anzac biscuits crunchy or chewy? ›

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).

Best substitute for golden syrup is a combination of light molasses or treacle, plus honey. I use 1 part molasses or treacle, and 3 parts honey – the flavour is nearly identical, and the colour is very similar (a bit darker).

Don't let the mixture stand around.

So, make sure you roll and bake the mixture as soon as possible after mixing to make rolling and flattening of the biscuits easy. If it does get a little dry you can just mix in another tablespoon or two of water to help make it a little more pliable before shaping.

Anzac biscuits have long been associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) established in World War I. It is thought that these biscuits were sent by wives and women's groups to soldiers abroad because the ingredients do not spoil easily and the biscuits kept well during naval transportation.

If your Anzacs spread, your butter was too warm. Chill them for at least 30 minutes before baking, and this should help. If you're Anzacs are greasy, here are some tips. Chill them as above; make sure you've used good quality unsalted butter (something that doesn't have water in the ingredient list).

For a soft and fluffy biscuit, scone or shortcake, fat pieces should be the size of coarse crumbs (Think of cake or muffin crumbs, not dried bread crumbs). Learn more about Fats in Baking. Arrange unbaked biscuits, scones or shortcakes closer together (they can almost touch) on the cookie sheet before baking.

If you don't have bicarbonate of soda, you could substitute baking powder - you'll need to double the amount. Golden Syrup - this is a staple in Aussie homes. There really isn't a substitute for golden syrup in Anzac Biscuits as it's used to bind the dough (in place of eggs).

Also known as light treacle, golden syrup makes its way into recipes with treacle in the title, like this Blood Orange Treacle Pudding. It's not to be confused with treacle, however, which is closer to molasses or dark corn syrup in its consistency, though it doesn't quite have the same flavor.

The golden syrup can be substituted and you could use (liquid/runny) honey or agave syrup. But we would mention that honey can have quite an assertive taste when used in cooking, so try to use a very mild-flavoured honey and we would mention that the cookies will not taste exactly the same.

But watch for crumbling or "melting": "If your biscuits are falling apart, then you have added too much of the wet ingredients, or potentially too much sugar," Quinn says. The marine biologist-turned-cook advises leaving the biscuits on the baking tray as they cool, then giving them a day or two to "chewify".

What can you use instead of coconut in Anzac biscuits? ›

My partner wants to make Anzac biscuits for a friend of ours who is deathly allergic to all nuts, including coconut. What would be a good substitute for it? The best thing we can think of is flax meal or ground oats with some added coconut-free coconut flavouring.

If the dough is too wet, add a bit of flour. Regardless, it is important to remember that if your dough is not wet enough aka too dry and crumbly, your final Anzac biscuit will be chewy and soft rather than hard and crispy.

Ingredients for Anzac biscuits

said another of different opinion. Some said they liked the biscuit both ways, with a hard, crunchy exterior and a softer, gooey texture on the inside. 'I like them when the biscuit is a little bit crunchy on the outside and a bit chewy on the inside, but I'll gladly enjoy either!'

A point of interest is the lack of eggs to bind the ANZAC biscuit mixture together. Because of the war, many of the poultry farmers had joined the services, thus eggs were scarce. The binding agent for the biscuits was golden syrup or treacle.

Soldiers often devised ingenious methods to make them easier to eat. A kind of porridge could be made by grating them and adding water. Or biscuits could be soaked in water and, with jam added, baked over a fire into "jam tarts".

chewy vs crispy is a combination of 2 things… ratio of fats to flour, and baking times/temps.. for more chewy cake like cookies, you want something with a high fat, content cooked at a lower longer temperature… for a more crispy or dryer cooking you want a lower fat batter cooked at a high temperature.

Remember moisture is the key! White sugar creates crispier cookies and brown sugar creates chewier cookies. Why use melted butter? Melted butter creates cookies with a different texture compared to cookies made with softened or creamed butter.

Texture - The biscuit dough has to be just right. If while mixing, you feel that the dough is too dry and crumbly and you are not able to shape it into rounds, add more liquid (this can be either in the form of a tablespoon of melted butter or just a tablespoon of boiling water).