Anzac Biscuits (Oat and Coconut Cookies)
Updated April 14, 2026
Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
- Ready In
- 1 hr 15 min
- (45 min, plus 30 min cooling)
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1⅓ cups/132 grams old-fashioned rolled oats
1¼ cups/170 grams all-purpose flour
¾ cup/62 grams unsweetened shredded coconut (see Tip)
⅔ cup/132 grams granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon fine salt
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
10 tablespoons/141 grams unsalted butter (see Tip)
¼ cup/53 grams light brown sugar
4 teaspoons/28 grams golden syrup or honey (see Tip)
3 tablespoons/45 grams water
Nutritional analysis per serving (20 servings)
22 grams carbs; 15 milligrams cholesterol; 167 calories; 2 grams monosaturated fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 8 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 89 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein; 10 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 325 degrees and line two 13-by-18-inch sheet pans with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, flour, coconut, granulated sugar and salt. Set aside.
- Step 2
Measure out your baking soda and keep it handy. In a medium saucepan over medium, heat the butter with the brown sugar, golden syrup and water, stirring occasionally, until the butter has completely melted and the mixture starts to lightly bubble. Immediately take the saucepan off the heat and add the baking soda. Stir for a few seconds, until the mixture expands to a blondish foam about twice its original volume.
- Step 3
Pour the foamy liquid over the flour mixture, scraping as much as you can from the pan. Mix just until the dry and wet ingredients are very evenly combined, then lightly press the dough into a mass at the bottom of the bowl. Let it rest for 5 minutes; this will make it easier to shape.
- Step 4
Scoop a couple tablespoons of dough and roll it between your hands to form a ball about 1 ½ inches in diameter; place on one of the parchment-lined pans. (If the dough is too crumbly to easily form balls, stir in some water, ½ teaspoon at a time, until it binds.) Repeat with the rest of the dough, spacing the balls 2 inches apart.
- Step 5
With your hand, flatten the dough balls slightly, then bake for 17 to 22 minutes, until light reddish golden brown (for chewier cookies) or deep amber (for crunchier cookies), depending on your preference. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.
- Step 6
Once completely cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
To make Anzac cookies without coconut, simply omit the coconut and replace with an additional ½ cup/52 grams oats.
To make the cookies vegan, use vegan butter in place of dairy butter.
Lyle’s Golden Syrup, made from cane sugar, is easy to find in the baking aisle of many American grocery stores these days or online, but if you’re unable to get your hands on some, honey is a serviceable substitute—though the flavor will differ slightly.
Private Notes
Comments
Living in a rural area, I am often without a ready source of NYT's recipe ingredients. Here, unsweetened shredded coconut, in a recipe that also calls for added sugar. Is there any formula for substituting sweetened shredded coconut and decreasing additional sugar, or do I have to mail-order ingredients for yet another delicious-sounding recipe? Or --is sweetened shredded coconut somehow different from unsweetened beyond the sweetening?
As an American married to an Aussie, I can attest that ANZAC Biscuits are the best. It’s worth it to track down Lyle’s Golden Syrup. We always have some around. Golden syrup has a caramel flavor profile and contributes to a really unique honeycomb/caramelized flavor and texture in combination with the oats & unsweetened coconut. Sure you can substitute other sweeteners and get a tasty cookie, but don’t call it an ANZAC biscuit ;-) Best bet might be 3 parts honey to one part light molasses to get that caramel flavor. Other tip is to use fairly fresh baking soda. The mixture is supposed to foam up before your eyes. It’s a different approach to baking/leavening than the typical American cookie. The end result is an epic chewy to crispy biscuit. Easy to make and keeps well, but good luck with that part!
I have made these using a different but similar recipe, and they are one of my favorites. It’s a great combination of ingredients, especially the golden syrup. In the US, golden syrup might be hard to find on your local store shelves, but you can find it on Amazon (Lyle’s brand) or if you’re adventurous you can make your own on the stove top. It also goes by the less glamorous name ‘invert sugar’. I’ve sometimes added almond slivers or pine nuts to the cookie mix though purists might take exception with my audacity.
Can the wheat flour be replaced with almond flour or buckwheat flour for gluten free cookies?
I use toasted ghee that gets poured directly over the coconut while still hot. I also use thick steel cut oats inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae, making sugar unnecessary if you let the dough ferment for up to several weeks in the fridge. You can also just bake them immediately. For my vegan clients I use unrefined coconut oil.
Really enjoyed these! As one does, i did tinker with it and the hubs really enjoyed the end product. Used a combo of coconut sugar and turbinado. Reduced the sugar by a little as that’s what we do. Subbed out 2 tablespoons of butter for olive oil just to see what it did to texture. Used a mix of flours (buckwheat and whole wheat pastry) and also did combo of the shredded coconut with shaved coconut. Texture was perfect: chewy with a little crisp at the edges. Sweetness was perfect for us with the slightly reduced amount.