The Afghan biscuit is made of flour, cocoa, cereal flakes and is topped with chocolate and a walnut. If you are American, the Afghan biscuit is not a biscuit after all. It would fall into the classification of a cookie. The British call cookies biscuits, hence the name Afghan biscuits is used to describe this cookie.
Theories on the Origin of Afghan biscuits
Another part of the misnomer of the Afghan biscuit is the origin of the biscuit not being Afghan at all. The Afghan biscuit is a treat that is thought to have originated in New Zealand (NZ).
Why these biscuits are called Afghan biscuits is anyone’s guess.
Possibly they were first sent to a soldier serving in Afghanistan during the Second Afghan War fought by soldiers of the British Empire in the late nineteenth century. Others say that they were sent to New Zealand soldiers serving there In World War I or World War II. The former is unlikely as Afghanistan was not involved in World War I, and World War II is unlikely as the biscuits have been around much longer than this.
Others point out that the biscuit was named for its resemblance to an Afghani male. The cocoa color resembles his skin color, the chocolate frosting his hair and the walnut on top resembles his hat.
Other theories include the resemblance of the biscuit to the landscape of Afghanistan or that possibly the biscuit was made to honor an Afghani gentleman who visited New Zealand. Although there is disagreement about the name, the fact that the Afghan biscuit is tasty is not in question. They are also relatively easy to make, as you can see by the following recipe.
Chocolate Afghan biscuit. Easy recipe
- Preparation Time: 10 minutes.
- Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes.
Ingredients
- 200g butter, at room temperature;
- 1/2 cup sugar;
- 1 1/4 cups standard plain flour;
- 1/4 cup cocoa;
- 2 cups cornflakes;
- Chocolate Icing;
- Walnuts, optional;
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Method
- Sift flour and cocoa.
- Stir into creamed mixture. Fold in cornflakes.
- Spoon mounds of mixture onto a greased oven tray gently pressing together.
- For Afghan Ice Cream Dessert, take balls of the mixture and press into discs before placing on trays.
- Bake at 180C for 15 minutes or until lightly browned and firm.
- When cold ice with chocolate icing and decorate with a walnut piece if you like.
You can find these biscuits at food store if you look hard enough. They will probably not be at the major chains, but specialty food stores would be a good place to look.
