While I do not claim for these cookies to be true Anzac biscuits, the basis for the ingredients screamed like an Annie cookie. Without eggs, the cookies held up quite well despite lacking eggs when families sent these biscuits to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps–hence Anzac–circa WWI. The true recipe calls for oats, flour, sugar, butter, “golden syrup,” and coconut. I found a recipe for these in Sweet, and I decided to tweak these to be my own. I call them Coconut Oatmeal Cookies with Raisins & Lemon. They’re still sweet (despite using only 3/4 c sugar instead of almost 2 c), bright from the cardamom and lemon zest, and perfectly chewy thanks to the oats and raisins. They’re like an updated version of your grandmother’s oatmeal raisin cookies.
Ingredients (makes 30 cookies).
- 1 c old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 c oat flour
- 1/2 c almond flour
- 3/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/4 t cardamom
- 1/2 c turbinado sugar
- 2 T coconut sugar
- 1/4 t salt
- 1 t baking soda
- 2 T honey (use maple syrup if vegan)
- 3/4 c unsweetened applesauce
- 1 T lemon zest (about 1/2 lemon)
- 1/2 c raisins
Directions.
- Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine oats through baking soda and mix well.
- Fold in honey, applesauce, and lemon zest. Mix well until all ingredients are wet and no dry ingredients remain. Fold in raisins.
- Spoon dough onto parchment paper, shaping cookies as needed.
- Bake for 12-15 min until just golden and firm. Let cool on a wire rack to help solidify them and firm even more.
- Enjoy!