Afghans

Afghans are a traditional New Zealand biscuit. This recipe has a light crumb, with a distinct corn flake crunch and rich chocolate icing - they are seriously indulgent.

My mother made Afghans when I was a child. I had all but forgotten... then over a cup of coffee my girlfriend Jo produced a tin.… I was transported back...  Jo shared a recipe she was given by a Kiwi barista at a coffee shop in Putney. I then found my Mums recipe (photographed in method) which is very similar, however I like this recipe more.

Traditionally Afghans are iced and crowned with a half walnut, I simply ice my Afghans as I occasionally put the biscuits in my daughters packed lunch (nuts are not suitable for school). The kids love making these biscuits. I like them so much, I tend to freeze them to resist the temptation (they take approx 30 mins to thaw!) I cannot stop myself, 1 is never enough!

I have used Valrhona Cocoa here, you can see the beautiful intense brown colour. However you can use your preferred cocoa powder.

 

Ingredients

For the Biscuit

170g unsalted butter, softened  

100g light brown muscavado sugar

180g plain flour (all purpose)

3 tbsp cocoa powder (I use Valrhona)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

60g crushed cornflakes (crush with your hands)

 

For the Icing

3 tbsp water

45g caster sugar

45g unsalted butter

190g icing sugar

3 tbsp cocoa powder (I used Valrhona)

walnut halves for decoration are optional.

Method

Prep time 15 mins. Cooking time 10-15 mins.

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/ 350°F. Line 1 - 2 baking trays with greaseproof baking paper (depending on the size of your trays).

2. Combine the plain flour, cocoa powder and baking powder in a bowl, then set aside. With clean hands, crush the cornflakes with your fingertips into irregular shapes then set aside. Cream the butter and brown sugar until the mix is pale in colour, mousse like in texture and increased in volume (5-6 mins).

3. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed sugar and butter and mix on a low speed, scrape down the bowl with a spatula. The mixture will appear rather dry and bread crumb like. Increase your mixer speed to medium, the mixture will combine into a solid mass a bit like pastry. Then add the crushed cornflakes and mix for 20 seconds until fully combined. 

4. Use a tablespoon to scoop out the mixture, roll into a rough ball and place on the tray. Leave some space as the cookies will expand. If you're making larger cookies, pat them down a little.

5. Bake for 10 minutes (at the 8 minute mark, I turn the tray so the edges do not catch as I have a hot spot in my oven) if you are unsure bake 1 cookie and test the time, every oven is different. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave the tray on a wire rack to cool down. Please note, the cookies will firm up once they cool down, when they are removed from the oven they will be soft. 

6. Once the biscuits have cooled down, begin making the icing (the icing will start to set immediately,  avoid making it in advance or it will loose its silky smooth texture). Gently heat the water and caster sugar, once the caster sugar has dissolved add the butter. Once the butter has melted simmer the mixture for 1 minute. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa in a bowl (it's very important to sieve to avoid lumps in the icing). Then add the sugar and butter syrup whilst continuously stirring. I tend to add an additional 1 tbsp of water to thin out the icing. If you look at the pictures, you will notice the icing is quite loose to begin with, as the icing begins to set the consistency changes.

7. Place a teaspoon of warm icing on the center of the biscuit and swirl with the back of the spatula, leave plain or crown with half a walnut. Store in an airtight container. They will keep for 3-4 days or freeze in an airtight container, they will keep up to 3 months (they take approx 30 mins to thaw!).

Serves Makes 26-30 small Afghans

Top Tips;

  • The creaming time will vary depending if you're mixing by hand, with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. I would recommend you focus more on the pale colour, increased volume and mousse like texture.
  • If you make larger cookies, bake 1 cookie to check the cooking time before baking the entire batch to avoid over cooking them.
  • I use Whole Earth Organic Gluten Free cornflakes, they are delicious and seem to hold their crunch well after freezing.
  • I use Valrhona cocoa powder. You can use any dutch cocoa powder.
  • You can reuse the greaseproof baking paper to line the base of you're container before freezing.