ANZAC Slice | Super Easy Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What to use instead of golden syrup in Anzac biscuits? ›

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).

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.

Texture - The biscuit dough has to be just right. If while mixing, you feel that the dough is too dry and crumbly and you are not able to shape it into rounds, add more liquid (this can be either in the form of a tablespoon of melted butter or just a tablespoon of boiling water).

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. Leave enough room between biscuits for spreading.

In the U.S., golden syrup is usually sold under the name of light treacle, but it's not readily available in many grocery stores. In cooking recipes, molasses and light treacle are often used interchangeably because their textures and flavor profiles are similar.

Anzac biscuits also traditionally use golden syrup, but it seems as if it is a little harder to find here than it is in Australia and New Zealand. So, I switched it out and used Honey instead. If you would like to use Golden Syrup then by all means go ahead - it is a 1:1 swap.

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.

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.

If your Anzacs spread, your butter was too warm. Chill them for at least 30 minutes before baking, and this should help. If you're Anzacs are greasy, here are some tips. Chill them as above; make sure you've used good quality unsalted butter (something that doesn't have water in the ingredient list).

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).

How to fix soggy Anzac biscuits? ›

If biscuits are too soft they can be returned to the oven and cooked further.

Baking powder is made of baking soda plus cream of tartar and cornstarch. Baking powder can be substituted for baking soda by tripling the amount of baking powder.

Do you need to refrigerate the biscuit dough? You will get less spread and a thicker, fatter cookie if you refrigerate these for an hour or even overnight. However here's a tip before you do: shape these into balls first before refrigerating them because once chilled and stiff they are harder to shape into balls.

Honey is also an inverted sugar but honey tends to have a very distinctive flavour and so can affect the taste of the finished dish. It is also quite expensive when compared with golden syrup. Lyle's Golden Syrup is the most popular brand and is available in several countries.

Anzac biscuits also traditionally use golden syrup, but it seems as if it is a little harder to find here than it is in Australia and New Zealand. So, I switched it out and used Honey instead. If you would like to use Golden Syrup then by all means go ahead - it is a 1:1 swap.

Honey's lower pH levels mean that the bicarb in the mix will be better activated than it would with golden syrup. This means a lighter biscuit, with a less “chewy” result. To maximise the chewiness of honey Anzac biscuits, bake at 150 degrees until they are lightly golden – don't overcook.

The free fructose content gives the syrup a taste sweeter than that of an equivalent solution of white sugar; when substituting golden syrup for white sugar, about 25% less golden syrup is needed for the same level of sweetness.

It can be used wherever honey is used, providing a lesser flavour spectrum but saving rather a lot of cost; this would include on porridge, pancakes and waffles, in flapjacks, ginger cakes and similar. To really showcase this ingredient, try making our golden syrup dumplings.