A while ago, I shared with you a recipe for the classic Anzac biscuits, with a twist: with pumpkin puree. And now I think it’s time for the oldie, but goldie, classic Anzac biscuits.

Bear with me for a few more minutes, because I’ll share the story of these biscuits again, because I find it fascinating.

| Related: Pumpkin Anzac Biscuits Recipe

ANZAC stands for: Australian and New Zealand Army Crops. Rumour has it that these biscuits became very popular when wives were sending these type of biscuits to their dispatched soldier-husbands. Although it’s looks like this is just a rumour, similar biscuits were indeed sold at local events, in order to raise money to the troops. You can read more about the history of this dessert here.

And now… onto the recipe!

1. Turn the oven on and preheat it to 170 degrees C.
2. In a medium-sized bowl add and mix all the dry ingredients (rolled oats, coconut flakes, sugar, flour and baking soda) to combine.
3. Melt the butter in the microwave and let it cool down a little. Add the honey in the butter and mix to combine. If you don’t have runny honey, add it in the warm melted butter – the heat will loosen up the honey.
4. Add the wet ingredients over the dry ones and mix everything well with a spatula. It’s probably better if you mix it by hand, because you want all the dry ingredients to be well combined. You should end up with a slightly sticky and wet mixture – should look and feel like wet sand.
5. Scoop a couple of tablespoons of mixture into your hand and form a small ball of dough. Press the ball between your palms in order to form a thin biscuit. Traditionally, the Anzac biscuits are thin and crispy, but if you want them thicker (like I did with the ones with pumpkin) you can totally do that – just bake them for a couple extra minutes.
6. Put them on a baking tray, lined with parchment paper (or a silicone mat) and let them bake for 10 minutes at 170 degrees C. They will get golden edges when they’re ready.

When the biscuits are ready, take them out and leave them for 5 minutes on the baking tray, to cool down. They are very soft when freshly taken out of the oven. So let them cool down a little, to make sure they won’t break.

After they harden a little bit, using the spatula, transfer them on a cooling rack to allow them to cool down completely.

They store well in a air-tight container for up to a week.

If you prefer to leave them on a plate to always have them on hand, keep in mind that they will absorb moisture, thus becoming soft in a couple of days.

I just baked these for my Dad yesterday and they’re still their favourites! It always makes me happy when I cook things for my family and they enjoy it – just another perks of cooking.

Although they have sugars in them (I lowered the quantity of sugar from the original recipe) they’re also packed with oats, which are a great source of whole grains and fibres.

They make a great snack and here’s a quick insider’s tip: they go SO well with bananas.

I really hope you give this recipe a try and if you do, please let me know how it turned out for you!