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RECIPE: CRUNCHY ANZAC BISCUITS

Maggie Lam

When it comes to biscuits and cookies, most people gravitate towards one of two distinct camps: team chewy or team crunchy/crispy. As for me? The answer to that question usually lies in the type of biscuit/cookie or what my taste buds happen to be craving. But there are of course exceptions, with one being Anzac biscuits. I like them crunchy. I like them chewy. I also like the middle ground: a crispy exterior that gives way to a chewy bite. There are no shortages of recipe tweaks when it comes to the traditional Anzac biscuit, resulting in this spectrum of crunchy to chewy. For this year’s Anzac Day, a friend and I decided to turn our video catch up into a virtual iso baking date and whip up a batch of Anzac bikkies. Some improvisation on the ingredient front was required on both ends given the rarity of ingredients X, Y, Z as of late. I will say, I was in the mood for a chewy Anzac biscuit and that I did not get. The polar opposite in fact. So if you’re team crispy, crunchy Anzac biscuit, then this is most definitely the recipe for you.

CRUNCHY ANZAC BISCUITS

INGREDIENTS

  • 125g unsalted butter, cut into cubes

  • 2 tablespoons honey (substitute for golden syrup)

  • 2 tablespoons water

  • 1 cup plain flour, sifted

  • 1 teaspoon bicarb soda

  • 1 1/4 cup traditional rolled oats (quick/instant oats will result in a bigger, flatter cookie that spreads out during baking)

  • 1 1/4 cup desiccated coconut

  • 2/3 cup brown sugar

METHODS

  1. Preheat the oven to 170C fan forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

  2. In a saucepan over medium heat, stir the butter, honey and water until melted and combined. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

  3. In a large bowl, first mix the dry ingredients before stirring through the butter mixture until everything is combined.

  4. Using your hands, firmly roll a tablespoon of biscuit mixture into a ball before pressing down to flatten. My mixture was slightly crumbly when I did this step, so some further hand manoeuvring was required to form an intact biscuit. These held their shape a-ok post-bake. Allow a few centimetres between each biscuit but my mixture did not spread much further.

  5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden in colour. The upper end of baking time will produce a crispier biscuit, but mine were crunchy at 8 minutes.

  6. Remove from the oven and allow the biscuits to cool on the tray for at least 5 minutes. The biscuits will harden as they cool.

Enjoy!