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A traditional Australian/Kiwi cookie (biscuit) made healthier! These healthy Anzac biscuits are also gluten-free, vegan and refined-sugar-free. They are oaty, coconutty, thin cookies with a crisp edge and they’re absolutely delicious! My recipe calls for just 8 ingredients and takes about 20-25 minutes from start to finish!
What are Anzac Biscuits?
It’s Anzac Day down under and the only way to celebrate is with some healthy, vegan, and gluten-free Anzac Biscuits!
But what’s an Anzac biscuit you ask? Well, ANZAC is actually an acronym that stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps, and April 25th is the annual day of commemoration for those who have served and passed on. It’s kind of like Memorial Day here in the US.
Oh, and one more thing, biscuit = cookie!
What Makes This Recipe Great
These healthy Anzac biscuits are oaty, coconutty, thin cookies with a crisp edge and they’re absolutely delicious! Throughout middle school and high school, I studied at international schools where Anzac biscuits were offered at lunch pretty regularly. And thus, I attribute my knowledge of Anzac Day and the wonderful biscuits to the population of Australian and Kiwi students at my school.
Although I enjoyed the cookies almost weekly, it wasn’t until doing my own research that I realized why cookies were tied to the occasion. Well, the cookies were made with ingredients that were supposed to hold up longer than the average cookie. This way, they could be mailed out to loved ones serving in the ANZAC and still withstand the mailing time.
For this reason, the authentic recipe is fairly vegan-izable as is. The only ingredient used that isn’t vegan is butter, which could absolutely be substituted for vegan butter. They also typically call for golden syrup, but I used maple syrup which is an excellent all-natural substitute (and healthier!).
And with that said, I present to you this healthy Anzac biscuit recipe. Not only are they vegan, but they’re also gluten-free and made with no refined sugars. My recipe calls for just 8 ingredients and takes about 20-25 minutes from start to finish!
What Makes These Healthy Anzac Biscuits?
No golden syrup: Instead of golden syrup, this recipe calls for maple syrup, which is a natural, unrefined sweetener.
No dairy: Instead of butter use coconut oil or vegan butter.
No gluten: Instead of regular flour, use oat flour or buckwheat flour.
No refined sugar: I use coconut sugar instead of regular white or brown sugar.
Ingredient Notes
Rolled Oats: Add texture and that beautiful chew to the cookie! Use rolled oats for best results, and if you’re gluten-free like I am, make sure to opt for gluten-free certified oats.
Desiccated Coconut: Sometimes also called shredded coconut. I like to use unsweetened coconut, as we are adding sweetener to the recipe! This also adds a nice texture and natural sweetness and gives the cookie its signature Anzac flavour.
Oat Flour (or buckwheat or other GF flour): In place of regular flour, I’m using oat flour, but I have also baked these with buckwheat flour and they work wonderfully!
Coconut Sugar: This is the granulated sweetener I’ve used, however brown sugar or cane sugar will also work.
Coconut Oil: You can also use vegan butter in place of coconut oil.
Maple Syrup: A touch of maple syrup, or liquid sweetener, is essential to create the sort of caramelization that occurs in these cookies. We’re only adding an additional 2 tbsp, it’s mostly for the texture of the cookie.
Baking Soda: You know, for the science of baking. Be aware there’s an added step in this recipe–dissolving the baking soda in water before using. Make sure you do this as it’s a classic technique used in all traditional Anzac cookie recipes.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees while you prepare your batter.
In a large bowl, whisk together oats, coconut, flour and sugar. Separately, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
Melt coconut butter until liquid, and add maple syrup to combine over low heat. Add this wet mixture to the dry ingredients and use a spatula or hands to combine. Add dissolved baking soda liquid and mix until a dough forms. If the mixture feels dry, you can add hot water by half a tablespoon as needed.
Take about 2 heaped tablespoons of dough and form large circular cookie shapes. Flatten with the bottom of a glass cup, or use your hands to thin it out. Bake cookies for 10-13 minutes (mine were ready at about 11 minutes) and let them cool completely before enjoying them.
Secrets to Success
For the flour, you can use buckwheat flour, oat flour, or regular all-purpose flour (if you’re not allergic to gluten). I’ve tried chickpea flour, which works, but does add a slight extra nutty-ness to the recipe.
As always, I recommend using a non-stick baking mat to line your baking trays for the best results. It will not only ensure an even bake but also makes for less clean-up and no cookies stuck to the pan! As an alternative, use parchment paper (baking paper).
I made my cookies fairly large, with 2 heaped tablespoons of dough per cookie. If you do the same, make sure to flatten the cookie so it bakes evenly!
Feel free to add additional bake time if you prefer your cookies more on the crisp side.
Storage Tips
Store your healthy Anzac biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Recipe FAQs
Can I use golden syrup if I have it?
The original recipe calls for golden syrup, which does add its own unique flavour and colour to these cookies, however, I substituted it with maple syrup to make them a little healthier.
Why are my cookies not spreading?
Be aware there’s an added step in this recipe–dissolving the baking soda in water before using. This is essential to the cookies puffing up and spreading.
Why is my Anzac biscuit dough dry?
You do not want dry dough. The cookies will not turn out. If the mixture feels dry, you can add hot water by half a tablespoon as needed.
If you try this recipe out, tag me on Instagram@veggiekins so I can see your delicious re-creations and for a chance to be featured! As always, I love when you share your reviews in the comments below, and if you make any fun substitutions, let me know how it worked out below too!
A traditional Australian/Kiwi cookie (biscuit) made healthier! These healthy Anzac biscuits are also gluten-free, vegan, and refined-sugar-free. They are oaty, coconutty, thin cookies with a crisp edge and they’re absolutely delicious! My recipe calls for just 8 ingredients and takes about 20-25 minutes from start to finish!
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees while you prepare your batter.
In a large bowl, whisk together oats, coconut, flour and sugar. Separately, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
Melt coconut butter until liquid, and add maple syrup to combine over low heat. Add this wet mixture to dry ingredients and use a spatula or hands to combine. Add dissolved baking soda liquid and mix until a dough forms. If the mixture feels dry, you can add hot water by the half tablespoon as needed.
Take about 2 heaped tablespoons of dough and form large circular cookie shapes. Flatten with the bottom of a glass cup, or use your hands to thin out. Bake cookies for 10-13 minutes (mine were ready at about 11 minutes) and let cool completely before enjoying.
Notes
Secrets to Success
For the flour, you can use buckwheat flour, oat flour, or regular all-purpose flour (if you’re not allergic to gluten). I’ve tried chickpea flour, which works, but does add a slight extra nutty-ness to the recipe.
As always, I recommend using a non-stick baking mat to line your baking trays for the best results. It will not only ensure an even bake but also makes for less clean-up and no cookies stuck to the pan! As an alternative, use parchment paper (baking paper).
I made my cookies fairly large, with 2 heaped tablespoons of dough per cookie. If you do the same, make sure to flatten the cookie so it bakes evenly!
Feel free to add additional bake time if you prefer your cookies more on the crisp side.
Storage Tips
Store your healthy Anzac biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
I just made these. I’ve been wanting to make this type of cookie for a long time so I was happy to see your recipe. They came out really great. I love them!
They look great!
As I am Aussie. You might like this we did in High School Home Economics (haha).
Melting the butter, syrup and water on low heat then add & mix in the bi-carb soda to the not too hot mixture it foams up doubling in size adding to dry ingredients immediately. Never need to add extra liquid.
I made those!!! They were amaaaaaazing and so so so delicious!!! much better than from the shop, thank you for the recipe...cannot wait to bake them again!
Made these biscuits today with my daughter she loved making them together. They turned out delicious l used honey instead of golden syrup and coconut oil they are delicious cant wait to make again they didnt last long.
Hi there, I’m Remy! Welcome to Veggiekins Blog, home to nourishing vegan + gluten-free recipes and tips to live your best balanced and holistic life. I’m a human on a mission to empower you to be well and be kind to your mind, body and soul with the healing power of plants.
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