my grandmother Betty's crunchies - the best
My paternal grandmother Betty Linsell was well known for her cooking and baking skills. Regrettably she died when I was quite young, so I have few memories of these skills at work, but one recipe that conjurs up childhood memories of being in my grandparents Johannesburg home, is crunchies.
my grandmother Betty
This particular recipe which was Betty’s has been feeding four generations of Linsell’s and has stood the test of time.
My step mother Marie Linsell, herself a legendary baker, makes these crunchies on a very regular basis and they always remind me of home.
My older sister Liz, who is not much of a baker but loves crunchies has this recipe firmly entrenched in her repertoire.
As I am on a baking mission to unearth, discover and divulge the best version of a variety of baked goods that I love, this recipe is the best one for crunchies that I have come across.
what you need to make these:
- 230gms butter
- 1Tbs golden syrup
- 2 cups of oats
- 1 cup of flour
- 1 cup coconut
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
How to make:
- Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees c
- Mix the flour, oats and coconut in a bowl
- Melt the butter in a small pot and then add the syrup and sugar and heat
- When the butter is bubbling add the bicarb and stir through and remove from the heat
- Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir together by hand
- Using the back of a metal spoon, gently press the crunchie mixture into a greased or lines baking tray (aprox 30cm x 20cm or similar depending on how thick you like the crunchies)
- Bake for 15 minutes at 180 C, then turn the oven down to 160 C and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden brown
- Allow to cool in the pan before slicing.
out the oven and cooling
buttery sweet oats, so perfect with a cup of tea
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
Lunchboxes or coffee table, these cookies are always welcome in my house. Lovely pic of your gran!!
This recipe is actually the mixture for Anzac biscuits. These are an Australian institution and were originally sent from Australia and New Zealand to troops in the First World War. They were baked very crisp and sent in sealed tins because they lasted well.
They are crunchier if you roll them in balls about the size of a small walnut and then flatten them with a fork dipped in flour. they need to be well spaced as they do spread quite a bit. In a slab as you have shown they are much chewier.
Maybe the recipe was picked up from there to South Africa.
cheers
Jean
oh these sound so yummy, thanks for sharing. i wanted to find another recipe that uses golden syrup since we don’t really use it in the US.
Thanks Nina, thought a bit of a glamorous shot would be nice. S
Hi Jean
I had heard that the crunchie is similar to the Anzac, and I do love the idea of making them into individual biscuits that are crunchier. I love texture!. I have no knowledge as to where my gran got the recipe from, but these tray crunchies are a very typical South African baked treat.
Sam
I am bookmarking this recipe. Son is going to love wolfing these down!
Nice pic of Betty, I can see my mum in her!
I think I’m going to make a batch tonight! xxxx
I love these cruckies, they bring back so many childhood memories
I recently won a ‘bake-off’ at work with this recipe :-p
Thanks Danni, I should have mentioned you in my post. Lots of love Sam xxx
Kathy, I can also see so much of my dad in Betty? and your mom. Enjoy the crunchies! I’m sure my favourite cousin in law will be very happy. S xx
Oooh, these are nostalgia at it’s best. They look awesome!
Thanks Robyn. S
I think the recipes handed down from generation to generation are the most valuable. The crunchies look delicious and fast enough to make if friends are coming over!
Tara, yes this recipe is very easy (by hand) and fool proof. Thanks. s
Actually we can get Lyall’s Golden Syrup in the USA. Go to World Market or the high end grocery stores. I get mine at Whole Foods here in California.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it for my grandchildren and they loved the cookies. Maybe this will become a recipe for life in our family. Love from a granny in the Netherlands. Nenny
Hi Nenny, I am so pleased you liked and were enjoyed by your grandchildren. Made my day! sam
hello i just read your recipe and think it sounds great i will bake them asap . i love looking for homemade biscuits and recipes . can one double the amount used when making the mix ?
Hi Wilhelm
Absolutely you can double the recipe – just use a bigger baking tray. Remember the thinner the crunchier, the thicker the longer to bake and the chewier.
enjoy! it is seriously a winning recipe.
this guy that i know his name is mike and he can NOT cook
so i had to help and im 15 he is 47
iI love how you’ve done it and the pics. It worked perfectly for my 8 year old to make.
Interesting origin of the crunchie from being carried in saddle bags in the 1800′s made with treacle to our modern day version.
I think we like both versions the Crunchie from Africa or the Anzac biscuit from Australia/ New Zealand.
Hi Sara, thanks for the comment. I too love the Anzac biscuit, its a little crunchier. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do as a family.
Cheers
Sam
These are the best crunchies that i have EVER tasted! I made them with Nature’s Source Muesli Crunch and Muscavado sugar. Thanks for sharing
Hi Lucienne, I know, what a winner of a recipe and also one of my most successful posts. Its a legend in our family and sounds like it will become one in yours too. This is the best part about blogging for me. The sharing.
Sam
Just made these, they are delicious!
I was wondering what quantity this recipe makes roughly? how many decent size crunchies could you get out of it? roughly the size: 6cm x 6cm
Hi Muffy, you would get 12 good size crunchies from this batch or a few more smaller ones. It really depends how big a pan. I bigger, flatter pan makes thinner crispier ones, and a small pan with thicker crunchies makes slightly chewier. Enjoy!
This is such an adaptable recipe however mine has 250g of butter (stork bake marg) and two cups of flour. Here are some variations – chopped cranberry and pecan or dried apricots and almonds, raisins, sunflower seeds, linseeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds. I have found the best way is to just mix a whole bunch of ingredients together (oats included) and use two cups as the recipe suggests to replace the oats. You can also add choc bitz cereal or muesli and add a couple of tbls of peanut butter to the melted mix. PS! Date and Pecan didn’t work that well
Awesome Janet thanks for the message and some lovely ideas (although margarine is a swear word in my house) – but I am keen to try with cranberries and chocolate chips.
I bake them for friends in the UK, but get upset when they call them flapjacks. When I explain that they are called Crunchies, this causes more confusion, as the preferred bake in our house is soft and chewy. I get asked why they are called Crunchies when they are not! I now have requests to sell them to friends and school fairs. Please help with a descriptive name – “Oat squares”, “Oaties”. Any ideas?
Hi Sue. In South Africa they are traditional crunchies, in Australia they are similar to their ‘Anzac biscuits. Everywhere outside of the United States they would be biscuits of sorts. In they USA they would be bars, probably crunchy oat bars. Maybe crunchy oat biscuits, oat biscuits, oat biscuit bars. Also if you bake them slightly thinner and until they are very golden they are in fact very crunchy
Hi, i have them in the oven now
im going to see how the sell in my shop in Spain 
i Will call them betty’s crunchie biscuits so just hope They like them xx thanks
Hi Laura, how exciting – you have totally made my day with this comment. I know they are going to love them (although might be a bit unfamiliar in Spain). Please do let me know how it all goes.
Sam
Have baked these from this exact recipe maybe 10 times in the past 6 months. My girlfriend is addicted and just sent me a whatsapp message asking when she is getting a hit again
[This usually means boy you have 48 hours and your time starts now!]
Simple recipe and each and every batch is perfect every single time. Needless to say these crunchies are scoring me major brownie points lol.
Oh wow Riaan that is so wonderful that you bake these for your girlfriend (lucky girl). Thanks for dropping by to share that and may you carry on enjoying the recipe for years to come.
Hi Sam, well every time im make these i make a double batch so the first double batch lasted me all of two days as i wanted to give tasters n share the idea with everyone….so then i made another which lasted a day and a half (double batch remember) so Now im on my third double batch n im sure they Will be gone before the day is through
thank goodnees They are easy to make!!! Its got everybody talking….n my hubby is very happy with them too, so thank you and Ouma Betty 
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