Afghan Biscuits

These biscuits are quick and easy to make from store cupboard ingredients.  Many schools are now “nut free” so if you are doing them for school lunch boxes, you can leave the walnut off the top.

Biscuit Ingredients

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C Fan or 180°C and grease a baking tray with a little butter.
   
2. Sieve the cocoa and flour into a bowl.
   
3. Cream the softened butter and sugar together with handheld beaters or a standing mixer. Then beat in the vanilla.
   
4. Add the flour and cocoa mix and beat until they are combined into the butter mix.  This may take a minute or two (initially it will look like it will be too dry).
   
5. Mix the cornflakes in with a spoon.
   
6. Take spoonfuls of the mix and using your hands form them round balls.  Slightly flatten the tops and place them onto the greased tray.  (The biscuits only flatten a little in the oven as they cook so you can flatten them roughly to the size and shape you want for the cooked biscuit.  The mixture will make 14 x 2.5 inch round biscuits).
   
7. Cook for 20-30 minutes (20 minutes if you are making 12-14 smaller biscuits and longer if you are making 9 large ones) then cool.  They will initially be quite soft when they come out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.
   
8. While the biscuits are cooling make the icing.  Put the icing sugar, cocoa powder and hot water into a small bowl and mix thoroughly until you have a smooth, glossy icing.  You can place a layer of cling film directly on top of the icing to stop the top hardening if it is ready before the biscuits are cold enough to ice.
   
9. When the biscuits are cold, spoon a little icing on top and place a walnut on top of each biscuit.