Crunchy ANZAC biscuits and the Scent of Rosemary

Baking the iconic Aussie Anzac biscuit is an annual tradition, and a wonderful way to commemorate Anzac Day. With a respect for tradition, these must be called biscuits, not cookies. It's almost Anzac Day, always the 25th of April in Australia, and a long weekend, when we remember the soldiers and family members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, those who also fought during World War II, the Vietnamese War, and others who bravely went away to war to defend our freedom, and also those who are still serving in many capacities to protect our country. 

It's now the 24th April, 2025, Anzac Day tomorrow,  and I've revisited this recipe to make a couple of little changes, as a lot can happen in 3 years. However, I am resisting making any big changes to the recipe, as I like my original one. It works for me and will work for you. Whether you like your Anzac biscuits crispy or chewy, both are achievable  by following a couple of different procedures. I prefer mine on the crispy side, and as I live in a more humid environment on the Queensland tropical coast, I opt to bake the crunchy type of biscuit as after a couple of days if they last that long, the biscuits can become a bit chewy anyway because of the humidity, so it's best to start crispy. Either crispy or chewy, they are still delicious. My biscuits tend to be crisp on the outside, and a little chewy in the centre. If they do become chewy, they can be reheated in the oven.

 Whilst I'm talking about the weather, it's well known that in our part of the world Anzac Day will more often than not be wet and rainy, it's always been that way. There's a lot of rain around the North East Coast of Australia at the moment, and this morning when I made these biscuits with rain showers still hovering around, I was thinking nostalgically of all those years when our children were still at school, and they would all proudly participate in the Anzac Day March through the City Centre with their school, sometimes in the rain. And we would stand there proudly as parents, watching them all march. 

To achieve crunchy or crispy Anzac biscuits if that's your preference, there are just a few steps to follow:-

• Bake them at a higher temperature, 180 deg. or 160 deg. Fan forced which is a moderate oven
• Use white caster sugar
• And some cooks say to use vegetable shortening rather than butter, however I always use butter.

If you like them chewy, just bake them at a lower temperature and use brown sugar instead of white sugar, and reduce the baking time by a few minutes. 

Anzac biscuits can spread during baking, so to ensure that doesn't happen, I now leave them in the frig on the baking tray to chill  for at least 15 minutes before baking.

Let's bake:

Grease two oven trays, and line with baking paper

Makes 25 biscuits, depending on the size of course.

Ingredients:

1 cup (90 g) traditional rolled oats, definitely not quick cooking oats

1 cup (150 g) plain flour 

3/4 cup caster sugar (fine white sugar)

1 cup (85 g) desiccated coconut

4 tablespoons golden syrup

150g/5 oz unsalted butter

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Method:

• Melt the butter over a low heat in a small saucepan and then add the syrup.
•  Add bicarbonate of soda to the melted butter and syrup and stir. It will froth up. Remove from heat.
• Combine the oats, sifted flour, sugar, salt and coconut together in a large separate bowl.
• Add the frothy syrup and butter mixture to the dry ingredients while still warm.
• If the mixture seems to be a bit too wet, just add a little extra flour and mix into the dough until it is a good consistency to form into balls. Or add a little water if it is too dry.
• Place a tablespoon of the biscuit mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, about 5 cm apart. I use an ice cream scoop to do this.
• Press down the biscuits slightly with a fork which may need to be dipped in flour, about 1 cm thick, or until they are the shape and size that you want. This is important if you proceed with the next step, of chilling them in the refrigerator
• Place your  biscuit trays filled with biscuits in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes, if it is humid weather where you are, this will stop the biscuits from spreading on the tray which can happen with Anzac biscuits
• Bake in a moderate oven, 180 deg. C/160 deg. C fan forced/350 deg. F, for 15 minutes until nicely browned. You may need to swap the trays over halfway through cooking. They will crisp up when they are taken out of the oven to cool. Leave them to cool on the biscuit tray until they firm up, at least 10 minutes,  as they will be quite delicate when hot out of the oven. Bake for 12 minutes for chewy biscuits.
• Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. They will harden up as they cool.

This recipe made 25 biscuits exactly this morning and they are so delicious with a cup of tea.

Sprigs of rosemary are often worn by Australians on Anzac Day, as symbolic of the sacrifices made by the Anzacs during World War 1 at Gallipoli. Rosemary can be found growing wild on the Gallipoli Peninsula, and I have a thriving bush of it in our front yard.

Everyone has their own memories of family members and friends who they have lost as a result of war, and by commemorating Anzac Day and those who are now gone, we are hopefully reminding future generations of the futility of war. It has never been more important than now, don't you think?  When the Last Post plays on the bugle during the Anzac Day Dawn Service and throughout Anzac Day, I always think of my wonderful Dad  who died too young as a result of World War II injuries in New Guinea, and I shed a quiet tear.

 Lest We Forget.

Thanks for dropping by,

Pauline