No 30 - Afghans

A tradition of some sort in NZ, no one seems to know why they were named thus, and I suspect they are just an excuse to eat chocolate icing and walnuts.  However they are easy, great to make with kids, and popular it seems (if my work mates are anything to go by).

Use unsweetened cornflakes, and mash them up a bit otherwise the mix can bea bit crumbly and the 'biscuits' don't hold together properly.

Afghans

6 oz flour
3oz sugar
2 oz cornflakes
1 oz cocoa
7 oz butter

Mix together, squash dessertspoonfuls into a rounded mound, bake in a moderate over (170-180 degrees C) for 16 minutes.  When cool, ice with chocolate icing and top with half a walnut.

(My colleague suggested using Nutella..... now there's innovation for you.)

Pictured with, or without, flash lighting.... the flash certainly makes them look more chocolatey.

No 29 Malt Biscuits

Long gap in there, no break from baking though.  There was all the biscuits, flapjacks, and toasted mueslei I did for the attempt by my work colleagues on the Welsh 3000's. (That had to be postponed because of high winds, and I will be in Norway when they re-run their attempt - The mueslei biscuits were consumed at work; and during our Round the Island Race last weekend.  Scarlet Jester got 7th in class and 85th overall.  We had a good day out).

The day after the Round the Island Race was extremely busy with catching up at the allotment, Portsmouth and District Bee Keepers Association summer lunch time barbeque, and a visit later from friends we hadn't seen for a while.  I managed a batch of Malt Biscuits for this challenge (my paternal grandmother's recipe: she of the shortbread), and a German Plum Cake to feed to my guests.

Apart from the 'cream the butter and sugar' instruction malt biscuits are easy to make, and popular with my baking testers.  The most difficult part might be sourcing 'extract of malt' - that's the stuff Kanga feeds to Roo as strengthening medicine in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories.  When we were children my bother got fed a spoonful of malt extract every day - as strengthening medicine.  I'm not exactly sure what it is meant to add to the diet, but I was extremely narked that I wasn't allowed to eat it.  That might be why I developed a taste for the stuff.  I always have a jar in the cupboard now.

Malt Biscuits

8 oz butter
1 and half cups sugar
3 tablespoons of malt extract  (use a hot spoon dipped in boiling water)
2 large eggs
4 cups flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tablesppons of cocoa

Cream the butter and sugar.  Beat in the malt extract.  Ad the eggs one at a time and beat well aftereach one.   Sift in the dry ingredients and work the whole lot into a very stiff dough.

Turn it out on the bench, squash it around a bit to get all the crumbs to attach and smooth out the texture.  Cut the dough in half and shape into 2 logs which you roll in aluminium foil and put in the fridge for 6-8 hours.

Unroll the foil, slice the logs into biscuits about 0.5cm thick, and bake on greased trays (or baking papers) for about 15 minutes at 170 degrees C.

We used to eat these cold with butter on, but then Kiwis in those days would butter anything.  They don't need the extra butter, but if you are being decadent.......  Family favorite.