A couple of years ago I was introduced to the delight of the Afghan biscuits, a tasty bicky packed full of chocolaty buttery crunchy goodness, thank you Alli! And it wasn’t until today that I realised why I’d not really heard that much about them. A quick search on google has alluded to the fact that they are of Kiwi origin but it is unknown where the name has come from. They certainly weren’t a biscuit we grew up knowing, maybe they weren’t big on Pemberton and Perth unless you had Kiwi ancestry!
Anyway I must admit I’d been having chocolate cravings so as I was flicking through the cookbooks on Friday morning I was drawn to all the recipes with chocolate in them. I was torn between brownies, chocolate cake and the Afghans and the Afghans won. Maybe it’s because of the fond memories or maybe it was because they would go nicely with a cuppa after dinner that night. Seeing the recipe I now understood where the crunchiness came from – cornflakes! So at about 5pm on Friday I decided it was time to bake. I must admit I’d spent much of my day setting up the blog which has been quite fun. Looking back now it was a wee bit foolish as we had guests arriving at 7.15pm for dinner and we still had to get the beef burgundy on! And as it was I was still drizzling chocolate on top of the biscuits our guests arrived!
Now a couple of things to note about this recipe including the fact that they will spread, a bit like Anzac biscuits. So be sure to leave plenty of room. A don’t fret if they look really flat after they cool off, that’s normal and they firm up after cooling properly and look a treat once you drizzle the chocolate over the top. In contrast to the recipe I used dark chocolate instead of chocolate icing as I prefer the slight bitterness in contrast to the sweetness. And according to my friend its traditional to have a nut on top, a walnut or pecan are good suggestions, however I didn’t get this advice until yesterday so I’ll know for next time. Anyway the recipe is below with and a couple pictures of the dough and finished product.
Afghan Biscuits (The gluten free kitchen by Sue Shepherd)
Makes 30
1c brown sugar
190g unsalted butter, softened
100g rice flour
65g tapioca flour
1tsp bicarb soda
2tsp gluten-free baking powder
2Tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2c gluten-free cornflakes
Chocolate icing
1 ½ c pure icing sugar
1 ½ Tbsp cocoa powder
Or 100g dark chocolate
1. Preheat oven 180C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Sift flours, bicarb soda, baking powder and coca powder three times.
4. Add to butter mixture and beat well. Gently stir in cornflakes.
5. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls and flatten slightly by pressing between your palms. Place on baking trays, allowing plenty of room for spreading and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To make chocolate icing sift the cocoa powder and icing sugar into a small bowl, Add 1 ½-2 Tbsp water and mix until smooth. Alternatively melt chocolate in microwave. Drizzle the icing/chocolate over the cooled biscuit and leave to set.
Enjoy!
Anyway I must admit I’d been having chocolate cravings so as I was flicking through the cookbooks on Friday morning I was drawn to all the recipes with chocolate in them. I was torn between brownies, chocolate cake and the Afghans and the Afghans won. Maybe it’s because of the fond memories or maybe it was because they would go nicely with a cuppa after dinner that night. Seeing the recipe I now understood where the crunchiness came from – cornflakes! So at about 5pm on Friday I decided it was time to bake. I must admit I’d spent much of my day setting up the blog which has been quite fun. Looking back now it was a wee bit foolish as we had guests arriving at 7.15pm for dinner and we still had to get the beef burgundy on! And as it was I was still drizzling chocolate on top of the biscuits our guests arrived!
Now a couple of things to note about this recipe including the fact that they will spread, a bit like Anzac biscuits. So be sure to leave plenty of room. A don’t fret if they look really flat after they cool off, that’s normal and they firm up after cooling properly and look a treat once you drizzle the chocolate over the top. In contrast to the recipe I used dark chocolate instead of chocolate icing as I prefer the slight bitterness in contrast to the sweetness. And according to my friend its traditional to have a nut on top, a walnut or pecan are good suggestions, however I didn’t get this advice until yesterday so I’ll know for next time. Anyway the recipe is below with and a couple pictures of the dough and finished product.
Afghan Biscuits (The gluten free kitchen by Sue Shepherd)
Makes 30
1c brown sugar
190g unsalted butter, softened
100g rice flour
65g tapioca flour
1tsp bicarb soda
2tsp gluten-free baking powder
2Tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2c gluten-free cornflakes
Chocolate icing
1 ½ c pure icing sugar
1 ½ Tbsp cocoa powder
Or 100g dark chocolate
1. Preheat oven 180C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Sift flours, bicarb soda, baking powder and coca powder three times.
4. Add to butter mixture and beat well. Gently stir in cornflakes.
5. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls and flatten slightly by pressing between your palms. Place on baking trays, allowing plenty of room for spreading and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To make chocolate icing sift the cocoa powder and icing sugar into a small bowl, Add 1 ½-2 Tbsp water and mix until smooth. Alternatively melt chocolate in microwave. Drizzle the icing/chocolate over the cooled biscuit and leave to set.
Enjoy!
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