South African 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.
There are two types of crunchies in South Africa. One is a baked oat and coconut bar flavoured with golden syrup. The other is a chocolate bar which consists of a honeycomb covered in milk chocolate. Both are deliciously delightful in their own way.
Crunchies (the baked biscuit bar that is) remind me of my childhood. They are a biscuit that was made in my family's kitchen, as well as my friend's and neighbours' family kitchens. These quick and easy biscuits were present at every bake sale. And very much like the Malva Pudding, every family has their own recipe.
Jump to:
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, way back in 2019.
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 at 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 in terms of a traditional crunchie recipe.
My hand-written crunchie recipe and the multitude of Anzac biscuit recipes I looked at called for a 1 to 1 to 1 ratio of flour, oats and coconut, in cups that is. The Cook and Enjoy It recipe called for a 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 were the best South African crunchies recipes I could muster! Not as sweet tasting as my Anzac/Original Crunchie recipe, but equally delicious.
What You Need for this Recipe
Equipment
This recipe requires a few mixing bowls, a kitchen scale, and 9"x9" or 23x23cm cake or brownie tin, and some baking paper.
Ingredients
Rolled oats and desiccated coconut make the crunchie, giving the…you guessed it, the crunch.
Butter makes it better, but baking margarine will do fine.
The golden syrup adds a nice light syrup flavour but can be substituted with honey or maple syrup.
Milk or water to add a bit more liquid to the batter.
Baking soda can be replaced with an equal amount of baking powder.
White or brown sugar can be substituted for either in this recipe.
Note - crunchies are egg-free oat and coconut bars.
Substitutions/Variations
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).
For this recipe, I would substitute the flour gram for gram and remove the additional baking soda.
Salt is a crucial ingredient in all baked goods. I use table salt in all my recipes. One teaspoon of table salt equals 1.5 teaspoons of Morton Kosher Salt equals 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal.
Making Crunchies
1 - Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan. Grease and line a baking sheet, slice tray or cake tin (about 23x23cm or 9"x9").
2 - Combine the flour, oats, coconut, sugars, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl.
3 - Melt the butter and golden syrup together either in the microwave or on the stovetop. Combine the baking soda and milk or water. Stir the baking soda mixture into the butter mixture.
4 - Pour the wet ingredient into the dry ingredients and stir well until combined. Press the biscuit mixture into the bottom of the prepared tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Rotate the tin halfway through the bake if needed.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing into 20 equal slices.
View the web story here!
Pro Tips for this Recipe
You may need to rotate your biscuits halfway through, especially if your oven runs hot in a particular corner.
Slice the crunchies while they are still warm!
Weighing & Measuring Ingredients
Weighing ingredients with a kitchen scale is more accurate than using measuring cups. All my recipes are developed and tested using grams only.
However, I have activated the metric-to-cup conversions. Simply click on "cups" or "metric" for your preferred measurements. For these conversions, cups are equal to 240 millilitres/8 fluid ounces, tablespoons are 15 milliliters and teaspoons are 5mL.
The temperatures stated are for conventional ovens. For convection, fan-forced, fan-assisted, or air-fryers, the temperature must be reduced by 20°C/25°F.
For baking, make sure the oven is fully preheated, and that the rack is in the middle of the oven. Open the oven as little as possible. For best baking results use an oven thermometer.
Remember that all ovens work slightly differently and bake times may need to be adjusted for your specific oven.
Bakeware: Metal bakeware is superior when it comes to baking biscuits, cookies, brownies, muffins and quick bread, scones, cakes. These heat up and cool down faster than glassware. Glassware is heavier, heats up and cools down slower than metal and is more suited for bread puddings, pies, crisps, crumbles and cobblers.
All my recipes are currently tested at sea level.
Storage and Freezing
Crunchies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 2 weeks.
South African Crunchies FAQ
Yes! I have made crunchies using honey before and the result was a delightfully honey flavoured biscuit. For this recipe, in particular, substitute out the golden syrup with an equal amount of honey.
Yes - simply substitute the baking soda with baking powder for this recipe.
Golden syrup or light treacle is an inverted sugar syrup that is made by refining sugar through the addition of an acid. It has a similar consistency to honey.
If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating! It gives my readers and me helpful feedback. If you want more recipes you can subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Pin for Later
📖 Recipe
Crunchies (South African Oat and Coconut Bars)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 150 grams rolled oats
- 150 grams desiccated coconut
- 150 grams plain flour (all-purpose/standard grade)
- 100 grams white granulated sugar (caster/granulated)
- 55 grams light brown sugar
- 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 125 grams butter (1 stick plus 1tbsp)
- 90 grams golden syrup (maple syrup/honey)
- 4 tablespoon milk or water
- ½ teaspoon baking soda (bicarb/bread soda)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/390F. Grease and line a baking sheet, slice tray or cake tin (about 23x23cm or 9"x9").
- Combine the flour, oats, coconut, sugars, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl.150 grams rolled oats, 150 grams desiccated coconut, 150 grams plain flour, 100 grams white granulated sugar, 55 grams light brown sugar, 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt
- Melt the butter and golden syrup together either in the microwave or on the stovetop.125 grams butter, 90 grams golden syrup
- Combine the baking soda and milk or water. Stir the baking soda mixture into the butter mixture.4 tablespoon milk or water, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Pour the wet ingredient into the dry ingredients and stir well until combined. Press the biscuit mixture into the bottom of the prepared tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Or until they have nice deep golden brown colour. Rotate the tin halfway through the bake needed.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing into 20 equal slices.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate. If scaling the recipe remember to scale your cook and bakeware accordingly. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs,I earn from qualifying purchases.
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
Marsh Moodley says
I made these on 2 days ago and I just ate the last one now, not bad for my first attempt, not as crispy as I would have liked, but I know what I need to change next time (tonight). It was too thick, so will spread it out thinner before baking. So today I will double the recipe and use 2 large oven trays. I drizzled chocolate on the top, it was just amazing.
Mary-Lou says
That's great! Thank you for you feedback! In my opinion - chocolate drizzles make everything better!
Janet says
How do I prevent the crunchies from being so crumbly?
Mary-Lou says
Hi Janet,
From the description of "crumbly", I have perhaps a few suggestions to make sure the crunchies come out perfectly next time.
The first is to make sure the dry ingredients (specifically the oats, coconut and flour in this case) are properly measured out (especially if using cups - all cup measurements should be level, when measuring flour, the flour should be fluffed up, placed into the cup using a spoon and then levelled off with the back of knife). If you are looking for a recipe with a higher ratio of wet to dry ingredients you can also use my Anzac biscuit recipe and bake them as a crunchie (or slice as they are called here in New Zealand).
If the measurements are not the issue, I would suggest really pressing the crunchie mixture into the baking vessel before baking.
Regards
Geneveve says
Hi! I would love to try making this recipe for some gluten free vegan friends… do you think I could substitute coconut oil for the butter? And would I be able to use oat flour instead of wheat flour or should I stick to a gluten free baking/all purpose flour?
Thanks!
Mary-Lou says
Hi,
I had someone comment either on one of my pins or on whisk and I can't find it regarding a vegan version, I'm pretty sure they used vegan butter, so I would give coconut oil a bash. No harm in experimenting!
In regards to what type of flour - I would stick to gluten-free baking/all-purpose flour. As that is the only type of gluten-free flour I have successfully used in some of my other recipes (such as my brownies - haven't tested them on crunchies yet). I don't know how oat flour would react or if it would need additional moisture or less moisture from the butter/oil.
Best of luck!
Mary-Lou
Aislinn says
This looks delicious but will instant oats also work for this recipe?
Mary-Lou says
Hi!
Thank you. I haven't tried instant oats in this recipe, but it might work if it's the plain unflavoured, unsweetened quick oats. However, definitely stay away from the flavored instant oat packages.
Happy Baking!
Mary-Lou