ANZAC Slice | Super Easy Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes Anzac biscuits crunchy or chewy? ›

Chewy Anzac biscuits: cooking time is the key

The good news is you don't need to tinker with the ingredients to get the texture you prefer, only the cooking time. Just as with chocolate brownies, variations in cooking time can mean the difference between a chewier or firmer Anzac biscuit.

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".

It's a combination of caramelising sugar, toasting oats and coconut, and browning butter, and it is completely and utterly irresistible. And while you're at it, these biscuits lend themselves beautifully to experimentation – some dried tropical fruit, a dunk in chocolate, or a dash of maple syrup would be perfect.

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).

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.

Baking soda or bicarb soda is the main raising agent in Anzac biscuits - it is added to the wet ingredients before being mixed into the dry ingredients.

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.

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).

The recipe for Anzacs is legally protected by the Australian and New Zealand governments, and Aussies and Kiwis alike seem to go up in arms (hopefully not literally) when their national recipe is tampered with, or when the biscuits are called 'cookies' (by pesky Americans, no doubt).

Why do Australians eat Anzac biscuits? ›

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.

For those of you who have never had a hobnob biscuit, it's kind of like a cross between an Anzac and a digestive biscuit. This particular recipe comes from Kate Doran's Homemade Memories – Childhood treats with a twist, and uses wholemeal flour, oats and as well as being fairly restrained with the sugar.

One Anzac biscuit contains 187 calories, 8 grams of fat, 28 grams of carbs, and 11.4 grams of sugar.

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.

Cookies that are dense and chewy incorporate more moisture into the batter. This can be achieved by making substitutions with wet and dry ingredients, or even just changing the way you incorporate certain ingredients. Plus, your particular baking technique and your method of storing cookies can also play a role.

The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.