Anzac-Style Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small saucepan
• •Two rimmed baking sheets
• •Parchment paper
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Combine dry ingredients

   Whisk together the oats, coconut, flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Use your fingers to break up any coconut clumps. The mixture should look like coarse sand studded with oat flakes. Set aside.

   Desiccated coconut is finely shredded and dry, different from sweetened flaked coconut. Check the package. You want unsweetened for proper Anzac texture.
2. 2

   Preheat and prepare

   Position your racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. The moderate temperature is essential here. Too hot and the edges burn before the centers set. Too cool and you'll get pale, soft cookies without that golden crispness.

3. 3

   Melt butter and syrup

   Combine the butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until the butter melts completely. The mixture will turn golden and smell faintly of caramel. Don't rush this. Let the golden syrup warm through properly so it loosens and combines smoothly with the butter.

   Measure golden syrup by dipping your tablespoon in hot water first. The syrup slides right off instead of clinging stubbornly to the spoon.
4. 4

   Activate the baking soda

   Remove the saucepan from heat. Stir the water and baking soda together in a small dish until dissolved, then pour into the warm butter mixture. It will foam up immediately, nearly doubling in volume. This is exactly what you want. The foam creates tiny air pockets throughout the dough that translate into lighter, chewier cookies.

5. 5

   Form the dough

   Pour the foaming butter mixture over the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until everything comes together into a cohesive, slightly sticky dough. It won't look like traditional cookie dough. More like damp granola pressed together. Trust the process.

6. 6

   Shape the cookies

   Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough and roll between your palms to form balls. Place them two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets, then flatten each ball gently with your fingers or the bottom of a glass to about half an inch thick. They spread modestly but not dramatically, so the thickness you create now largely determines your final cookie.

   For chewier cookies, flatten less. For crispier throughout, press thinner. You control the texture.
7. 7

   Bake until golden

   Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pans between racks and front to back at the halfway point. The cookies are done when the edges turn deep golden brown and the centers still look slightly underdone. They'll firm as they cool. If you wait until they look fully set in the oven, you'll have hockey pucks.

8. 8

   Cool properly

   Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for a full five minutes. This isn't optional. They're fragile when hot and need time to set their structure. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The edges will crisp as they cool while the centers stay soft. This is the texture you're after.

Chef Tips

• •Golden syrup (Lyle's is the classic brand) lives in the baking aisle or international section of most supermarkets. Accept no substitutes for your first batch. Once you taste the real thing, you'll understand why it matters.
• •Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They keep beautifully for up to a week, actually improving slightly on days two and three as the flavors meld.
• •For gifting or shipping, these are ideal. The absence of eggs means they stay fresh longer and travel well. The original bakers knew what they were doing.
• •Want crispier cookies throughout? Bake a minute or two longer and press the dough thinner before baking. The traditional Australian preference leans crisp. Americans generally prefer the chewy version.

Advance Preparation

• •Dough can be shaped into balls, placed on a parchment-lined sheet, and frozen solid, then transferred to a zip-top bag. Bake directly from frozen, adding 2 to 3 minutes to the bake time.
• •Baked cookies freeze beautifully for up to two months. Thaw at room temperature for an hour before serving.
• •The dry ingredients can be combined and stored in an airtight container up to a month ahead, ready for quick assembly when the craving strikes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 cookie (about 23g)