
So I googled and found out that New Zealand cuisine is largely based on local ingredients. Similar to it’s neighboring country Australia, New Zealand cuisine is a diverse British based cuisine. Historical influences came from Maori culture, the indigenous polynesian people of NZ.

Name of these biscuits is quite interesting and has nothing to do with Afghanistan. I couldn’t find the real story behind the name, but these are traditional New Zealand treat and are quite popular there. These cookies are easy to put together and are nutty, crunchy, chocolaty and delicious. They are made with cornflakes, cocoa powder, butter, sugar and flour. Then topped with some chocolate icing and a walnut.

Recipe from sbs.com:

Afghan Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup All purpose flour
- ½ cup Whole wheat pastry flour*
- ½ cup Sugar
- 10 tablespoons Unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 stick+2tbsp
- 1½ cups Cornflakes**
- ¼ cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
- As needed Walnuts, chopped
For the Icing:
- ½ cup Confectioner's sugar
- 1 tablespoons Unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoons Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour(s), cocoa powder, salt and cornflakes and stir until combined. The mixture will look crumbly, but will hold shape when pressed together.
- Take a tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball, flatten it slightly and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining mixture, placing the cookies about 1" apart from each other.
- Bake the cookies for 15~16 minutes or until firm. Remove onto a cooling rack and let the cookies cool completely.
- Make the Icing: Combine confectioners sugar, cocoa powder and 1tbsp water until combined and forms a thick paste. Add 1tsp water at a time to make sure that the consistency is thick.
- Immediately spread over the cooled cookies and place a walnut on top. Let the icing harden for a couple of minutes before eating.
Notes
- Or just use 1¼cups all purpose flour.
- Kellogg's brand works great
Diane Balch
The corn flakes sound like such an interesting twist. They look beautiful. Pinned to our Food of the World page.
Usha Rao
When I first saw the title, I thought you did the wrong country. Cornflakes add an extra crunch to cookies and look yummy.