Afghan biscuits

Afghan biscuits. Photo / Babiche Martens

Makes 20

200g butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup dutch cocoa
1 1/2 cups cornflakes

Icing
2 cups icing sugar
2 Tbs dutch cocoa
2 tsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
boiling water

1 Cream the butter with the vanilla and sugar until pale.

2 Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease an oven tray or line with baking paper.

3 Sift the flour with the cocoa. Fold the cornflakes into the butter mixture, then shape into rounds on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes then let cool.

4 Sift the icing sugar with the cocoa. Add the butter and vanilla then stir in enough boiling water to make a smooth icing and ice the biscuits.

Chef's tip

The quality of the cocoa can make a huge difference to the outcome of both the flavour of the biscuits and texture of the icing on the afghans. Take the time to find a pure cocoa product without additives. A small jar of the best quality cocoa you can afford may be pricey, but it's worth it to get such a delicious result.