Mmmm.

[labellementeuse]

Sidebar: whenever I post recipes I find myself really audience conscious, which is weird. I think it comes from the fact that I spend a lot of time converting online recipes into NZ measurements and NZ brands and NZ names (butter in grams not sticks, vanilla wine biscuits not graham crackers, icing sugar not powdered sugar) - not to mention plain old unit conversions.

Anyway. What do you do when you have a box of stale cornflakes in your cupboard? Make afghans, obviously. My research revealed (where "research" = a google and straw poll of the two non-Kiwis on IM at the time; Fairfax would be ashamed, even) that if you eat afghans overseas, you don't call them that. According to one of my flatmates, afghans are a kiwi way of making shortbread more interesting. I don't know if that's true or not, but I hate shortbread and I love afghans, so who knows? Anyway, afghans are a chocolate biscuit (cookie) with cornflakes in them. They are yummy and really easy. Since they're apparently an NZ thing, I thought I'd better go with the classic Edmonds Recipe Book Afghans and Chocolate Icing.

Biscuits

200g butter (a bit less than 2 sticks - 1 stick of butter is around 110g), softened
1/2 C sugar (NZ cups and US cups are theoretically different, but I've never bothered converting a US recipe so I can't see why y'all should.)
1 1/4 C flour
1/4 C cocoa
2 C cornflakes

1. Preheat to 180 C (360 F).
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Sift flour and cocoa together and stir or beat into butter and sugar.
4. Fold in cornflakes. Note: this is impossible. These are not exactly light and fluffy ingredients. Wash your hands thoroughly and get in there - probably snobby cooks worry about keeping their cornflakes whole or something but seriously, I just crunch it all up in there until the cornflake pieces are evenly spread out in the mix.
5. Pressing the mixture together, spoon mounds or balls onto a baking tray and flatten with a fork (they should be quite thick anyway.) Bake for 10-15 minutes.

This produces a semi-savoury biscuit; I prefer them smaller. Since they are quite savoury, wait till they cool and ice with chocolate icing.

Chocolate Icing

2 C icing sugar (powdered sugar)
2 tablespoons cocoa
1/4 C butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 tablespoons boiling water
walnut halves (optional)

1. Sift icing sugar and cocoa into the bowl.
2. Add butter and essence - a note about the butter: you shouldn't melt it, but softening it a little will make your life easier.
3. Gradually add boiling water, mixing constantly, until the desired consistency is achieved. Really great icing will eventually harden on the afghan, so for that you want as little boiling water as possible.

Spread this on the biscuits after they've cooled, and decorate with a walnut (classy!)

Mine turned out pretty well, although not exactly what you'd call pretty (generally afghans aren't). But they're tasty!

Comments

[amarynth.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to give a shout-out to your hatred of Shortbread.

I'm pretty sure Afghans are a familiar concept in the USA - I remember some jokes about people refusing to cook them after 9/11.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

It's grandma food! And neither of my grandmothers make inspiring shortbread.

I was *sure* they couldn't be that localised, but there weren't any non-.co.nz results on like, the first page - not even .com.au. And then I wiki'd, and it wasn't even in wikipedia at all! that's just weird.

[amarynth.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my grandmother pushed shortbread on me too, but honestly I don't see how it can be any good. Too flakey and powdery and chalky. Ugh, I need a mouth-rinse just thinking about it.

[persephone-kore.livejournal.com]

I think "Note: this is impossible" is my current favorite recipe modification.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

It's not a note I give lightly! But I got out my rubber spatula and made folding notions and uh, I got a big ball of cookie dough covered in cornflakes.

[miriamus.livejournal.com]

Ooh. Will remember this. I feel like baking at some point :)

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

They're super-easy too!

[lady-larla.livejournal.com]

yummy... you and afgans do know we're on for lunch ? same time same place, lets see if we can beat Lucy there again :P

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

Hee, OK, but the afghans are now deceased! Sorry.

[lady-larla.livejournal.com]

wha!!!! shocking i tell you!

[catling42.livejournal.com]

ooooh. those *do* sound tasty. thanks for sharing!

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

*curtsies* Awwww, your icon's adorable.

[catling42.livejournal.com]

thanks :D

[sixth-light.livejournal.com]

Graham crackers = wine biscuits? OMG! I _never knew_! This is almost exciting as when a cookbook informed me that broiling = grilling and Tas and I had to pause West Wing to jump up and down and wave our hands incoherently in expression of our disapproval of Americans and their crazy, crazy cooking words.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

The analogue isn't exact, but in terms of cooking they're basically equivalent - you use them in pie crusts and that kind of thing. :P

[sixth-light.livejournal.com]

Huh. Well, that explains the smores thing. I could never understand why people used what I thought were savoury crackers.

[disturbed-kiwi.livejournal.com]

I went to post to this entry last night but Whoosh failed me spectacularly and I was very close to... *ponders recent police phone calls* complaining to the appropriate persons?

Anyway, the reason I wanted to post was to say:
OMG IS THAT WTF GRAHAM CRACKERS ARE, THAT;S INSANE. ALL THIS TIME I'VE SEEN THEM IN BOOKS OR REFERRED TO ON TV AND I'VE NEVER REALSIED! I FIGURED THEY WERE LIKE MEALMATES OR THOSE SESAME CRACKER THINGS! THANK YOU TUI I LOVE YOU.

So. Have we done an ANZAC biscuits recipe for the non Antipodian friends of Tui? Especially with choccy backs. (I had a bunch in the staffroom this arvo. MMMmmmmmm Choccy ANZACs)
If so, did anyone say what they thought of them after trying to make them?

[sixth-light.livejournal.com]

OMG IS THAT WTF GRAHAM CRACKERS ARE, THAT;S INSANE. ALL THIS TIME I'VE SEEN THEM IN BOOKS OR REFERRED TO ON TV AND I'VE NEVER REALSIED! I FIGURED THEY WERE LIKE MEALMATES OR THOSE SESAME CRACKER THINGS!

OMG I KNOW! It's like this whole new window onto the strange world of American literature!

From my experience, overseas type people think Anzac biscuits are really weird. I have to admit I'm not a big fan - at least not of the non-chocolate-coated type.

[disturbed-kiwi.livejournal.com]

Suddenly all those books like Ramona and... and... others that I know I've read at some point... ring so much truer! Because they always seemed to be a treat, but not a savoury treat and I am just so happy to have that tiny little niggle gone from my understanding of the world.

I love ANZACs of all types. But the chocolate is great. Hee, I love comparing cultures. I wonder why they find them weird?

[roadtomanderlay.livejournal.com]

Hmm...I wonder if I could do this, sans cocoa, with the bran cereal I have in the pantry. It's got bits of dried strawberry and cranberry in it. Hmmm.