Afghans

Afghans are my absolute favourite sweet biscuit.  They are chocolatey and sweet, but not sickening and then they are crunchy, crumbly and melt in the mouth all at the same time.  They have the unusual addition of cornflakes in the recipe which helps to give them their great crunch.  It isn’t clear how this recipe originated or where these biscuits got their name from, but the trusty Edmonds cookbook has provided the recipe for many Kiwi bakers for decades.  


These are a favourite in many New Zealand cafes, where they are made huge and have the traditional walnut piece on top.  I have made these since I was young and generally leave off the walnut, usually because I don’t have any in my cupboard when I make them, but they are great either way.  These are fantastic biscuits and won’t last long once you have made them.  I share them with my workmates or I’d eat them all in a couple of days.

They are very easy to make but ensure that you cream the butter and sugar well or the biscuits will spread slightly as they cook, but they still taste good this way anyway.

Afghans

200g softened butter

120g (½ cup) white sugar

190g (1 ¼ cups) plain white flour

33g (¼ cup) cocoa powder

50g (2 cups) cornflakes

Icing

125g (1 cup) icing sugar

5g (1 Tbsp) cocoa powder

¼ tsp butter

30ml (2 Tbsp) hot water (approximately)

1. Preheat oven to 180⁰C fanbake.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Sift flour and cocoa and stir into the creamed mixture until well combined.
4. Fold in the cornflakes.
5. Shape tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls and place on a greased or lined baking tray.  Press down lightly with the back of a fork.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until set.
7. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool.
8. When cold, ice with chocolate icing and decorate with walnut pieces in desired.

Icing: Sift icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl and add the butter.  Mix in enough water to mix to a spreadable consistency.