Blonde Afghan cookie
Chocolate is not safe with me. I can never resist breaking off another little piece (the last one!) from a bar. So I was very surprised to find a whole bar of white chocolate when I was searching through my drawer with baking ingredients for this cookie. Instead of polishing off the bar immediately, I used it for my variation of the classic Afghan cookie from New Zealand: the blonde Afghan cookie. The result of my self control is a crunchy cookie that is a little lighter and airier than the original and has the creamy sweetness of white chocolate.
____________________
Blonde Afghan cookie
for about 25 cookies
125 grams soft unsalted butter
50 grams sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
pinch of salt
125 grams flour
40 grams white chocolate
50 grams Smacks (puffed wheat with honey)
100 grams white chocolate to top
about 25 almonds
With an electric mixer beat the butter with the sugar, the vanilla essence and the salt for about 3 minutes until light and creamy.
Grate the white chocolate.
Mix the white chocolate and the flour into the butter mixture.
Knead the Smacks into the dough.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Take about 15 grams of the dough and form little balls. Place them on a cookie sheet covered with baking paper.
Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes in the middle of the oven until light brown. Take out of the oven and leave to cool completely.
Half fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Break the chocolate into little pieces and place in a heat proof bowl that fits on top of the saucepan. Place the bowl on the saucepan, cover with a lid and turn off the heat. Stir after a few minutes to check if the chocolate is melted. If not, cover and wait for another few minutes.
You can also melt the chocolate pieces in the microwave. Place them in a little bowl and heat on the highest setting for 1 minute. Stir the chocolate and if it is not melted, heat again for 30 seconds. Stir again and repeat until the chocolate is melted.
Lightly toast the almonds in a dry pan.
Top each blonde Afghan cookie with a teaspoon of melted chocolate and an almond. Leave to cool.
This post is also available in: Dutch
