Afghan biscuits
Afghans
Dense chocolate butter biscuits with crushed cornflakes for crunch, topped with chocolate icing and a walnut half.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Afghans.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Total
- 1 hr 5 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Afghans are the New Zealand cafe biscuit: a rich, crumbly cocoa shortbread made crunchy with cornflakes folded through the dough, baked until just firm, then capped with a soft chocolate icing and half a walnut. There is no egg and no leavening, so the biscuit is short and dense rather than cakey. The dough does not spread much, which means what you shape is what you get. This version uses a high ratio of butter to flour, the way the old Edmonds cookbook does, and a water-based icing that sets to a matte finish. They keep for a week in a tin.
What you'll need
10 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Ingredients
- Icing
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Butter, softened200 g
- Sugar80 g
- Wheat flour175 g
- Cocoa powder25 g
- Cornflakes, lightly crushed in your hands50 g
Icing
- Icing sugar150 g
- Cocoa powder30 ml
- Butter, melted15 g
- Water, boiling, as needed30 ml
- Walnuts16 half
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Heat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray. Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
5 min180°C
Step 2
Sift in the flour and cocoa and mix to a stiff dough. Fold in the cornflakes gently so some stay in flakes rather than dust.
3 min
Step 3
Roll into 16 balls, place on the tray and press each one flat with your fingers to about 2 cm thick. They barely spread.
5 min
Step 4
Bake 15 minutes. They will still feel soft. Cool on the tray 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely.
15 min180°C
Watch: They firm up as they cool. If you bake them until they feel hard they will be dry.
Step 5
Sift icing sugar and cocoa, stir in the melted butter and enough boiling water to make a thick, spreadable icing. Spoon a blob onto each biscuit and press a walnut half on top. Leave 30 minutes to set.
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 220 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 26.1 g
- Fat
- 12.3 g
- Saturated fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 0.7 g
- Sugar
- 14.8 g
- Sodium
- 27 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Milk
- Tree nuts
- Vegetarian
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Walnuts → Leave bare, or use a pecan half
Walnut is traditional. Nut-free Afghans are still Afghans.
Tips
- Leave the cornflakes in recognisable pieces. The crunch is the point.
- The icing should be thick enough to hold a peak. Add water half a teaspoon at a time.
- Bakery Afghans are often enormous. Make eight big ones and bake 18 minutes if you want that.
History & culture
Every New Zealand bakery, school fair and cafe cabinet has Afghans next to the ginger crunch and the Anzac biscuits. They are a morning-tea biscuit and a lunchbox biscuit. The name has drawn long debate in New Zealand, and some bakeries have renamed them; the recipe has not changed.
The recipe appears in New Zealand cookbooks from the 1930s, including the Edmonds book that most Kiwi households own. The origin of the name is not known for sure. Theories about the dark colour or the shape of the walnut are guesses. Cornflakes, cocoa and butter were all cheap and common in the Depression-era kitchen that produced them.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Afghan biscuits take?
1 hr 5 min all in — 20 min prep, 15 min cook, 30 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 16 pieces. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk, Tree nuts. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Oven, Baking tray, Mixing bowl.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list a salt amount. We will not invent one.
How much sugar?
80 g of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Walnuts → Leave bare, or use a pecan half. Walnut is traditional. Nut-free Afghans are still Afghans.
What should I watch for?
They firm up as they cool. If you bake them until they feel hard they will be dry.
Any tips from this recipe?
Leave the cornflakes in recognisable pieces. The crunch is the point. The icing should be thick enough to hold a peak. Add water half a teaspoon at a time. Bakery Afghans are often enormous. Make eight big ones and bake 18 minutes if you want that.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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