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Sekai Gohan
Afghan Biscuits: New Zealand Cocoa Cornflake Biscuits with Chocolate Icing
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Butter, softened (for the dough) | 7 oz (200 g) | The body of the dough and its melt-in-the-mouth richness |
| White sugar | ½ cup (120 ml) | Sweetness, colour, and holding air when creamed |
| Plain flour | 1¼ cups | The structure of the biscuit |
| Unsweetened cocoa powder (for the dough) | ¼ cup (60 ml) | Colour and bitterness against the sweet icing |
| Plain cornflakes | 2 cups | Crunch and lightness |
| Walnut halves (optional) | 24 | Topping; bitterness and toastiness |
| Icing sugar | 2 cups | The body of the icing |
| Butter, softened (for the icing) | scant 1 oz (25 g) | Gloss, richness and easy spreading |
| Hot water | up to 2 tbsp | Loosens the icing to spreading consistency |
| Vanilla essence | ¼ tsp | Aroma |
| Unsweetened cocoa powder (for the icing) | 2 tbsp | Colour and bitterness in the icing |
Steps
1Preheat the oven and cream the butter and sugar
Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Put the softened dough butter and the sugar in a large bowl. Beat them with a hand mixer for 3–4 minutes, or with a whisk for 5–6 minutes, scraping down the sides once or twice. Stop when the mixture turns light ivory, soft and fluffy, and clings to the bowl.
2Sift in the flour and cocoa
Set a fine sieve over the bowl and sift the flour and the dough cocoa together onto the creamed butter. Stir them in with a spatula or spoon using steady, folding strokes. Stop as soon as no dry flour is visible. Mixing on past that point tightens the dough.
3Fold in the cornflakes
Tip the cornflakes onto the dough. Fold them through with a rubber spatula, lifting from the bottom of the bowl rather than pressing down. Use as few strokes as it takes to spread them through. The dough will be stiff and crumbly and reluctant to hold together, with large flakes still clearly visible.
4Line the tray and shape the mounds
Line a baking tray with baking paper, or grease it lightly. Spoon heaped mounds of dough onto the tray, leaving 1½–2 inches (4–5 cm) between them. Press each one gently together with your fingertips so it holds, keeping it as a rough mound rather than flattening it. If the mounds will not all fit, use a second tray.
5Bake until set, then cool completely
Bake for 15 minutes, or until set. If you are baking two trays, swap their positions partway through when one side is browning faster. The cocoa makes them dark from the start, so judge by touch: the edges are firm and the centre dips slightly and springs back. Leave them on the tray for a short while, since they are soft when hot and firm up as they cool, then lift them onto a wire rack and let them cool completely.
6Make the icing
While the biscuits cool, sift the icing sugar and the icing cocoa into a small bowl. Add the softened icing butter. Add the hot water a little at a time, stirring after each addition, and stop as soon as the icing is spreadable, even if some water is left. Stir in the vanilla. The icing is right when a spoonful lifted and dropped leaves a trail that holds for a moment and then slowly spreads.
7Ice the biscuits and add the walnuts
Check that the biscuits are cold all the way through. Spoon a little icing onto each one and spread it over the top with the back of a teaspoon, leaving the craggy edge bare. Set a walnut half on each while the icing is still soft, if you are using them. The icing should sit thick on top without running down the sides.