The story behind the Anzac biscuit

Anzac biscuits date back to the First World War, when wives, mothers and community groups across Australia and New Zealand baked them to send to soldiers overseas.

Built to last the journey

They were made without eggs, using rolled oats and golden syrup. That was not a stylistic choice — eggs were scarce, and more importantly a biscuit without egg could survive weeks at sea without refrigeration and still arrive edible.

The name comes from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose troops fought at Gallipoli in 1915.

Why we say biscuit, never cookie

In Australia the word Anzac carries legal protection, and its use on food is restricted. We take that seriously. We make Anzac biscuits, never Anzac cookies, and we keep the traditional character of the recipe rather than treating it as a base to improvise on.

It is a small discipline, but it is the reason the biscuit still tastes like the thing it is named after.