Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Anzac Biscuits
Golden oat-and-coconut biscuits bound with golden syrup, chewy or snappy, a national argument.
Australian · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 15 min
~499 cal · 6g protein · 61g carbs · 27g fat · 5g fiber · 31g sugars · 19g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Anzac biscuits are among the most iconic bakes of Australia and New Zealand, tied to the memory of the First World War. They were made by families at home to send to soldiers serving overseas, and their eggless recipe was no accident: without eggs, they kept for the long sea voyage.
They are built from rolled oats, coconut, flour, and sugar bound with golden syrup and butter, with bicarbonate of soda to lighten them. Whether they come out chewy or crisp is a matter of fierce and affectionate national debate, decided by how long they bake.
The name Anzac is legally protected in both countries and carries real weight, so the biscuits are treated with a certain respect. Sweet, oaty, and faintly caramelised, they appear at fundraisers, family tins, and every commemoration, a small edible link to a shared history.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup coconut
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp golden syrup, the signature, maple syrup works at a pinch
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp boiling water
Instructions
1
Stir the oats, flour, coconut, and sugar together.
2
Melt the butter with the golden syrup. Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water, add it to the pot, and watch it foam, that foam makes the texture.
3
Pour the wet into the dry and mix into a sticky dough.
4
Roll walnut-sized balls onto lined trays, flattening slightly and leaving room to spread.
5
Bake at 325°F: 10 minutes for chewy, 14 for crunchy. Cool on the tray, they firm as they cool.
Australian & New Zealand wartime home baking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Victoria. Victoria, around Melbourne, drives Australia's food scene, a coffee-obsessed, multicultural city of Greek, Italian, and Asian influence. Brunch culture and laneway cafés define its modern table.
🗺️
Australia. The macadamia is the one Australian native plant to have become a global food commodity, and it did so having largely lost its Aboriginal names and the knowledge attached to them along the way. Finger lime, Kakadu plum, lemon myrtle and wattleseed are now travelling the same road, which is why who benefits from them is an active question.
🌍
Oceania. Oceania spans Australia, New Zealand, and thousands of Pacific islands, where the ocean and the coconut palm define the pantry. Traditional Polynesian and Melanesian cooking centers on root crops, taro, yam, cassava, and sweet potato, slow-cooked in earth ovens (the umu or mumu) alongside fresh reef fish and rich coconut cream. Modern Australian and Māori kitchens blend these deep roots with waves of Asian and European influence.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
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Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Oven.
Storing it: Keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and reheats covered in the oven. Most bakes can be assembled a day ahead and baked when needed.
Make it a Australia meal
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Lemon, Lime and BittersDrink
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Anzac Biscuits?
Golden oat-and-coconut biscuits bound with golden syrup, chewy or snappy, a national argument.
Where does Anzac Biscuits come from?
Anzac Biscuits is a Australian dish from Victoria, Australia.
Can Anzac Biscuits be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Anzac Biscuits recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Anzac Biscuits safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Anzac Biscuits take to make?
About 30 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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