Afghan biscuit
An Afghan biscuit is a traditional New Zealand[1][2][3] biscuit made from flour, butter, cornflakes, sugar and cocoa powder, topped with chocolate icing and a half walnut. The recipe[4] has a high proportion of butter, and relatively low sugar, and no leavening (rising agent), giving it a soft, dense and rich texture, with crunchiness from the cornflakes, rather than from a high sugar content. The high butter content gives a soft melt-in-the-mouth texture, and the sweetness of the icing offsets the low sugar and the cocoa bitterness.
Type | Biscuit |
---|---|
Place of origin | New Zealand |
Main ingredients | flour, butter, sugar, cornflakes, Cocoa powder, chocolate icing, walnut |
Name
The origin of the recipe is New Zealand but the name likely originates from 'Afghanistan brown' as a colour description, and the recipe has appeared in many editions of the influential New Zealand Edmonds Cookery Book.
Griffin's Foods, a biscuit, snack-food and confectionery manufacturer in New Zealand, sells Afghan biscuits.[5] In June 2020, they announced they would rename the biscuits due to racist connotations, in particular with the Afghan wars.[6]
Ingredients
Ingredients typically include flour, sugar, butter, cornflakes (or crushed Weet-Bix, or large rolled oats etc.), cocoa powder and walnuts.
See also
References
- Timothy G. Roufs, ed. (2014). Sweet Treats around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- "Afghan Biscuits, Isle of Capri Tomatoes and Broken Heart Gin". Asia Sentinel. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- Tran, Mark (7 July 2016). "From bovver to budgie smugglers: the latest entries to the OED". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- p.18, Edmonds Cookery Book, De Luxe Edition, Edmonds Food Industries Ltd. 1955
- "Our Biscuits". www.griffinsbiscuits.com. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
- "New Zealand treats renamed over racist overtones". RNZ. 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2020-06-24.