There are two types of crunchies in South Africa. One being a baked oat and coconut bar flavoured with golden syrup. The other a chocolate bar which consists of honeycomb covered in milk chocolate. Both are deliciously delightful in their own way.
Crunchies (the baked biscuit that is) reminds me of my childhood. They are a biscuit that was made in my family’s kitchen, a biscuit that was always on sale at every bake sale. Very much like the Malva Pudding, every family has their own recipe.
Crunchies are a delicious, easy, traybake that whips up in a few minutes. If you love Anzac biscuits you will love these.
Crunchies vs Anzac Biscuits
In my mind – they are pretty much the same biscuit, just formed differently. I had my suspicions the first time I tasted an Anzac biscuit here in New Zealand, almost 18 months ago (how time flies).
My hand-written crunchie recipe that I have been using for decades now was very similar to the many Anzac Biscuit recipes I had looked at.
For the purpose of Salty Ginger – I stepped away from my handwritten and well-loved recipe to have a look in my 1978 copy of Cook and Enjoy It. Why you may ask? Well, I wanted to see what this classic recipe book had to offer.
My hand-written crunchie recipe and the multitude of Anzac biscuit recipes I looked at called for 1 to 1 to 1 ratio of flour, oats and coconut, in cups that is. The Cook and Enjoy It recipe called for 1 to 4 to 3 ratio of flour, oats and coconut. I played around with the ratios and came up with something in between this recipe and mine because at the end of the day I wanted a biscuit or cookie and not a straight-up granola bar.
What I ended up with was a delightful biscuit, not as sweet tasting as my Anzac/Original Crunchie recipe, but still delicious.
Ingredients for Crunchies
Rolled oats and desiccated coconut makes the crunchie, giving the…you guessed it, the crunch.
Butter makes it better, but a baking margarine will do fine.
Golden syrup adds a nice light syrup flavour but can be substituted with honey or maple syrup.
Baking soda can be replaced with an equal amount of baking powder.
White or brown sugar can be substituted for either in this recipe.
Tips for making Crunchies
Oven temperature is never consistent across various varieties of ovens. The best way to ensure an accurate temperature is to use an oven thermometer. Keep this in mind and check the cake about 5 minutes before the time is up. Especially if your oven runs hot as my current one does.
You may need to rotate your biscuits halfway through, especially if your oven runs hot in a particular corner.
I find it’s easier to slice the crunchies while they are still warm.
Crunchie (South African Oat and Coconut Bars)
Crunchies are a delicious, easy, traybake filled with oats, coconut and flavoured with golden syrup. This recipe whips up in a few minutes. If you love Anzac biscuits you will love these.
Ingredients
- 150 grams rolled oats (1½ cups)
- 150 grams desiccated coconut (1½ cups)
- 150 grams plain or standard grade flour (1 cup)
- 100 grams white or caster sugar (about ½ cup)
- 65 grams brown sugar (about ¼ cup)
- 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon optional
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 125 grams butter (½ cup)
- 90 grams golden syrup (¼ cup)
- 4 tablespoon milk or water
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Grease or line a baking sheet, slice tray, or cake tin (approximately 30 cm by 20 cm) with baking paper.
- Combine the flour, oats, coconut, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Melt the butter and golden syrup together either in the microwave or on the stove top.
- Combine the baking soda and water or milk.
- Mix the baking soda mixture into the butter and syrup.
- Add the melted butter mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Press the biscuit mixture into the prepared tray or tin. The biscuit mixture will be between 1 and 1.5 cm thick.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing into 20 equal slices.
Notes
Butter can be substituted with baking margarine or vegan alternatives.
Golden syrup can be substituted with honey or maple syrup.
Rolled oats can be substituted with steel-cut oats.
Baking soda can be replaced with an equal amount of baking powder.
White or brown sugar can be substituted for either in this recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 180Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 158mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 2gSugar: 13gProtein: 2g
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary between brands and ingredients used.
Lucy says
What temperature must the oven be for this recipe?
Mary-Lou says
Hi
The oven temperature is 180°C.
Regards,
Mary-Lou
Lucy says
Thank you so much! I did try these and they turned out delicious. Thank you for the recipe
Mary-Lou says
It's a pleasure! I'm so happy you found these crunchies delicious!
Candice says
Hi, Would 1 cup self raising flour be ok to substitute for (plain flour + baking powder)? Thanks!
Mary-Lou says
Hi Candice
The self-raising flour substitute should work 100%.
I've included my explanation as well at the bottom (which is what I've been adding to all my latest recipes, and will be added when I update this post in the future) to just help anyone else out.
Baking Soda (Bicarbonate of Soda)/Baking Powder Substitutes: 1 teaspoon of baking powder = 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Substituting Plain/All-Purpose/Standard Grade Flour with Self-Raising/Self-Rising Flour: If a recipe calls for ½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of baking powder per cup/150 grams of plain flour, simply use self-raising flour and leave out the baking powder. For recipes that need more than 1 teaspoon of baking powder per cup (150 grams) - simply add in the additional baking per cup (150 grams).
Regards
Mary-Lou