Genealogy website Ancestry has uncovered the earliest recorded Anzac biscuit recipe in its newspaper records. Created by a Mrs M. Sutherland of Mount Kokeby, WA, the recipe dates back to June 4, 1916, predating the previously oldest-known version from the 1917 War Chest Cookery Book. 

Mrs Sutherland submitted the recipe to The Sunday Times recipe contest (she won fourth prize), and her version features an unexpected ingredient – ginger. 

Related recipe: Anzac caramel slice

Credit: Supplied

How to make Anzac biscuits

If you want to recreate Mrs Sutherland’s version for yourself at home, here’s the recipe: 

1. One cup treacle, ¼ cup dripping or butter, ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup milk in a saucepan. Put on the stove to make hot. 
2. Then put in dessertspoonful of ginger, 1 tsp baking soda and enough flour to roll out stiff. 
3. Cut round.
4. Bake in moderate oven.

For a slightly more, er, accurate option, try this recipe from our Food Director Lucy Nunes and the Country Women’s Association of Victoria. 

Related recipe: Anzac ice cream

Why are they called Anzac biscuits?

Ancestry also found there’s a surprising lack of knowledge about Anzac biscuits’ true origins. Apparently, 42 percent of us don’t know where they came from. Of those who think they know, 49 percent believe that soldiers were given them as rations during the war. 

Anzac biscuits can actually be traced back to WWI (1914-1918). At this time, our ANZACs – the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps – had to put up with something called ‘hard tack’ – a rock-hard survival biscuit that was sometimes even used as a makeshift postcard. While it’s still widely debated, the Anzac biscuits we know and love today most likely originated from the wives, mothers and daughters who developed recipes that could withstand the long journey from Australia and New Zealand to the trenches overseas. These early versions were sent in care packages, offering soldiers a comforting and much-missed taste of home. And Ancestry believes that the original recipe is still out there somewhere. 

Related recipe: Anzac fruit crumble

Credit: Chris Court

An unsolved mystery

With Australian troops joining WWI in 1914, two years prior to Mrs Sutherland’s creation, Ancestry historians believe that an earlier, original recipe is out there waiting to be discovered. So the site is now encouraging Australians to explore family heirloom cookbooks, read wartime letters from ancestors and speak with loved ones about their experience during the war to help uncover the OG Anzac biscuit recipe. 

“Was this recipe truly the original, or is there an earlier version out there that resonates with the golden syrup and oat delights we enjoy today?” asks Ancestry family history expert, Brad Argent. “We’re calling on Australians to help us solve this national mystery.”

From April 17 to 26, Ancestry will offer free access (account registration is required) to five billion wartime records, helping Australians connect with their ancestors. To access free wartime records and begin your search, visit ancestry.com.au

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