Anzac Day, celebrated on April 25, is taken seriously by Australians and New Zealanders, so much so that there is an official recipe on the books that decides what does and doesn't count as one. For those who don't know, Anzac Day commemorates the first major military campaign of Australian and New Zealand troops during WWI in 1915. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, an appellation that the soldiers latched on to for the remainder of the conflict. Anzac biscuits have become a popular means of celebrating this anniversary.
According to Jamie Oliver's website, while the origin story of the biscuits claims that these were made by wives and girlfriends of the soldiers and shipped to them on the front lines, it's more likely that they were "made at home to sell for fundraising, or to serve at fetes and other events held to raise money for the war effort, and it’s this connection between the biscuits and the war that led to the use of the name “Anzacs”.
The EYB Library contains 69 online recipes for the sweet oat and coconut biscuits if you want to make your own to honor the occasion, including the Anzac biscuits by Maggie Beer pictured above. If you would rather purchase the cookies instead of making them, staff members of The Guardian decided to see which commercially available Anzac biscuit was the best.
7 comments
Ganga108
There is a book written about Anzac biscuits - it is well researched and a very interesting read: Anzac biscuits : the power and spirit of an everyday national icon / Allison Reynolds. It has been a while since I read it, but I am not sure Jamie Oliver is correct. Either way, Allison Reynolds talks about the Anzac biscuit here: https://www.homestolove.com.au/is-this-australias-oldest-anzac-biscuit-recipe-11895
BTW, I like my Anzac biscuits flat and chewy, and made them for my wider family for many years.
valbe
They are so easy to make I can't ever imagine buying them. I add a few raisins and sunflowers seeds so not exactly dinky-di nor true blue Aussie but as I live in Canada I feel I can get away with it.
debkellie
The history, as suggested by Jamie Oliver, that the Country Women's Association (CWA) invented & sold them for fund-raising is also disputed by Australia's War Memorial. The first published recipe was in a book called "The War Chest Cookery Book" published in 1917, and authored by the Citizen's War Chest Fund (NSW). The CWA didn't publish their variations (one with coconut, one without) until 1933 in their "Calendar of Cake and Afternoon Tea Delicacies: a recipe for each day of the year" (Sydney: The Association, 1933). And don't dare call it a "cookie" ;-)
Darcie
debkellie
"Anzac Biscuits
The use of the word ‘Anzac’ in the commercial production and sale of Anzac biscuits is usually approved, however the biscuits must not substantially deviate from the generally accepted recipe and shape, and must be referred to as 'Anzac Biscuits' or 'Anzac Slice' (not ‘Anzac Cookies’). Where a recipe or the finished product substantially deviate from the generally accepted form (e.g. include ingredients such as chocolate or fruit), the manufacturer should consider renaming them so that the word ‘Anzac’ is not used. Each year DVA declines applications for permits where products include the word ‘Anzac’ but which do not bear any resemblance to generally accepted forms of Anzac biscuits – some examples include ‘Choc Chip Anzac Biscuits’, ‘Anzac cheesecake’, ‘Anzac muffin’ and ‘Anzac sandwich’. "
https://www.dva.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-11/guidelines-use-of-the-word-anzac-nov22.pdf
bittrette
I'm told (I don't remember where) that coconut haters are rare in Australia. Don't know about New Zealand.
MelW66