Many of us bake Anzac biscuits all year round, not just for Anzac Day. Not only are they delicious, but they’re also easy to make – the traditional recipe generally consists of a simple mixture of flour, oats, golden syrup, desiccated coconut, sugar, butter and bicarbonate of soda.
But with many supermarket shelves currently stripped bare of flour and oats (among other staples), baking a batch for Anzac Day might prove tricky this year. So which store-bought Anzac bikkie is best?
We’ve compared the price, ingredients and nutrition of eight different Anzac biscuits, and highlighted the need-to-know features of each. Whether you’re team chewy or team crunchy, looking for gluten-free or best value, we’ve got you covered.
Regular Anzac biscuits
Arnott’s Simple Batch Anzac Biscuits
Price: $3 for 12 ($0.25 per biscuit).
Taste and texture: More crunch than chew, with visible whole rolled oats and a strong buttery flavour.
Good for: Purists. The ingredients in these bikkies are all common pantry staples – not a preservative, hydrogenated oil, or weird sugar derivative in sight.
Bakers Finest RSL Anzac Biscuits
Price: $10 for 50 ($0.20 per biscuit).
Taste and texture: Smallish bikkies with a mild flavour and a high crunch factor.
Good for: Team crunchy. They come in a commemorative, reusable tin.
Coles Bakery Anzac Biscuit 12pk
Price: $3 for 12 ($0.25 per biscuit).
Taste and texture: Very sweet, soft and chewy, with whole rolled oats evident in the mixture.
Good for: Team chewy. They weigh in at just shy of 30g per biscuit, so good for people who prefer bigger bikkies. Suitable for vegans, too.
Unibic Anzac Biscuit
Price: $3 for 24 ($0.13 per biscuit).
Taste and texture: Dark-golden and simple-tasting. A slight crunch with a fine textured crumb.
Good for: Bargain hunters. At just 13 cents each, these bikkies are the cheapest in our review.
Woolworths Anzac Biscuit Family Pack 24pk
Price: $6 for 24 ($0.25 per biscuit).
Taste and texture: Sweet, soft and chewy, with whole rolled oats evident in the mixture.
Good for: Team chewy, and people who like a bigger bikkie (they’re similar in size to the Coles Bakery version). Also suitable for vegans.
Taste and texture: These gluten-free bikkies are crunchy on the outside with a heavy, chewy bite.
Good for: People with strong jaws who like a good hard chew.
Coles I’m Free From Anzac Biscuits
Price: $3 for 10 ($0.30 per biscuit).
Taste and texture: These gluten-free biscuits are dark golden in colour, super crispy and snap when you break them.
Good for: Team crunchy.
Gloriously Free Oats Anzac Biscuits
Price: $10.95 for 10* ($1.10 per biscuit).
Taste and texture: The least sweet in our review, with coconut sugar and brown rice syrup instead of the more traditional sugar and golden syrup. Described as “gluten friendly”, these chewy bikkies are made from oats from the US that test nil for gluten (the other gluten-free bikkies in our review use alternatives to oats including puffed rice and corn flakes).
Good for: People who are vegan, or who are allergic or intolerant to gluten, dairy and eggs.
*Available from selected stores or online at shop.gfoats.com.au. $1.50 goes to the charity Legacy for each ‘commemorative pack’ bought.
Never made Anzac biscuits? Want to know how? Fiona Mair, CHOICE home economist, shares her easy recipe, which can be tailored for a chewy or crunchy result.
Anzac biscuit recipe
Ingredients
1 cup (150g) plain flour
1 cup (100g) rolled oats
¾ cup (60g) desiccated or shredded coconut
½ cup (125g) caster or brown sugar
125g butter
4 tablespoons (100g) golden syrup
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoons hot water
Method
Preheat oven to 160°C fan forced shelves two or four (or 180°C conventional oven middle shelf only).
Line two large baking trays with baking paper, or lightly grease.
Mix flour, oats, coconut and sugar in a large bowl.
Melt butter and golden syrup in a small pan over medium heat, then remove from heat.
Add bicarb soda and water to butter mixture and mix well (it will froth up).
Stir into dry ingredients until well combined.
Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls and place on trays, allowing room for spreading.
Press down gently on the balls with the back of a spoon to flatten slightly.
For chewy biscuits: bake for 12–15 minutes until light golden brown.
For crispy biscuits: bake for 20 minutes.
Remove trays from oven and leave biscuits on the baking trays to firm up or cool on a wire rack.
Rachel Clemons is an award-winning journalist who worked at CHOICE from 2004–2022.
During her time at CHOICE her core focus was on food and nutrition, from reviewing breakfast cereals and fast food to dispelling myths about the benefits of detox kits and gourmet salt or translating confusing food labels – with the occasional taste test thrown in for good measure.
Prior to CHOICE she lived overseas, working predominantly in hospitality when she wasn't travelling and eating her way through various cuisines. She holds a Master of Science in Nutrition from King's College London (where she also researched and wrote for CHOICE's UK sister organisation, Which?), and a Bachelor of Science, Health Sciences from the University of Adelaide.
In 2017 she won the Dietitians Association of Australia's Nutrition Journalism Award and she's currently on the Steering Committee as a Parent Member of Parents' Voice.
You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Rachel Clemons is an award-winning journalist who worked at CHOICE from 2004–2022.
During her time at CHOICE her core focus was on food and nutrition, from reviewing breakfast cereals and fast food to dispelling myths about the benefits of detox kits and gourmet salt or translating confusing food labels – with the occasional taste test thrown in for good measure.
Prior to CHOICE she lived overseas, working predominantly in hospitality when she wasn't travelling and eating her way through various cuisines. She holds a Master of Science in Nutrition from King's College London (where she also researched and wrote for CHOICE's UK sister organisation, Which?), and a Bachelor of Science, Health Sciences from the University of Adelaide.
In 2017 she won the Dietitians Association of Australia's Nutrition Journalism Award and she's currently on the Steering Committee as a Parent Member of Parents' Voice.
You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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