These biscuits are a kiwi classic. Great for baking with kids as there is no egg
in the recipe, this means that it doesn’t matter if the mixture is ‘sampled’
before baking. If you decorate them with a glace cherry they would be perfect for a Red Nose Day fund raising cake stall or bake sale.
I used a recipe from my late Nana and converted the measurements
from imperial to metric. Afgan biscuits
have been around for generations. It has
been the first recipe in the biscuit section of the Edmonds Cookery Book since
its 7th edition in 1953. My Nan’s recipe
dates from long before that. The only
alterations I have made to her recipe are the addition of vanilla extract to
bring out the chocolate flavour, and a little baking powder to make the
biscuits a little lighter - I hope she would approve.
You can mix these in a bowl, no mixer required, as long as
the butter is soft. The icing is lovely and fudgy, well worth the faff. However, you could make an icing with cocoa, icing sugar and a little milk or water if you prefer.
175g butter, softened
100g light soft brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
180g flour
35g cocoa
½ tsp baking powder
60g cornflakes, lightly crushed
Chocolate Icing:
45ml/3 tbsp water
45g caster sugar
45g butter
200 g icing sugar
30g cocoa
walnut pieces (optional)
Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan and line two baking trays
with non-stick baking paper.
In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until the mixture
is pale and fluffy. Sift in the flour,
cocoa and baking powder. Mix until
combined then gently stir through the cornflakes.
Put teaspoonfuls on the prepared trays, leaving a little
space around each biscuit to allow them to spread. Flatten them slightly with a fork and bake for
12–15 minutes.
Leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before
transferring to a wire rack to cool
completely.
Put the water, caster sugar and butter into a saucepan over
a low heat. Gently heat, stirring, until the butter
has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Then turn up the heat and simmer for 1 - 2 minutes until the mixture forms a syrup.
Sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl. Gradually add the syrup, stirring all
the time, until a smooth and fudgy icing forms.
You can add a little hot water if the icing is too thick.
Top each biscuit with 1 tsp of warm icing. Put a walnut half on the top, if you are
using them. Leave the icing to set
firmly then serve. We decorated ours with rinsed glace cherries and sprinkles instead of walnuts.
These biscuits keep well for 3 to 4 days if kept into an airtight
tin.
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