Afghans are a delicious, chewy, crunchy chocolate cookie covered in rich dark chocolate icing and topped with a single chunk of walnut. As far as I know, they are unique to New Zealand and are a traditional, comforting home-baked treat for many of us. I recently discovered that an English friend of mine had never even heard of afghans (!), so I decided it was time to make a batch and share the chewy chocolatey goodness 🙂

Ingredients

200g margarine
1/2 C caster sugar
1 1/4 C gluten free plain flour
1/4 C cocoa
2 C cornflakes

Ganache:
300g dark chocolate, broken into chunks
1/2 C soy cream
25g margarine
Walnuts to top – I always think this is one of the defining features of the afghan!

Method

1. Heat oven to 180°C

2. Cream margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Sift flour and cocoa, then stir in to creamed mixture.

4. Fold in cornflakes – at this stage it’s up to you how much you crush them up (I like mine big and crunchy, but my mum likes little flecks of crushed cornflakes instead)

5. Spoon mixture onto greased baking tray. It’s quite a sticky mix so you can’t shape it too much. Besides, I love leaving my cookies with spiky bits which become beautifully crunchy when they’re cooked!

6. Bake for approximately 15 minutes. Leave them on their tray for a few minutes to allow them to cool once they’re out of the oven, otherwise they’ll just fall apart when you transfer them to a cooling rack.

To make the ganache icing:

1. Place dark chocolate, margarine, and cream in a saucepan.

2. Heat very slowly and gently, stirring often, until chocolate is melted (I’ve managed to burn the chocolate many times before, so be careful!).

3. Allow to cool until the ganache is thick and glossy.

4. Dip cooled cookies into the ganache, ensuring they have a generous topping of silky chocolate.

5. Top with a walnut, as is traditional 🙂

 

 

Recipe adapted from Edmonds Cookbook