Edmonds and Afghans

Ngahuru ki runga, ngahuru ki raro, maa te paroparo e aki

Ten above, ten below, let the skull grind them together

New Zealand is famous for many things - the Pavlova (but don't tell an Australian that), Hokey-Pokey, Lolly Cake and Afghan biscuits. Notice I am not mentioning All Blacks or Sport in any postings!

Most New Zealanders own an Edmonds Cookbook - first published in 1908 *information from a very reliable source - my Kiwi husband!

Naturally, I purchased one on my first trip. If I couldn't live in New Zealand - I was certainly going to cook like a Kiwi.

To be honest I have only made one recipe from my Edmonds - Afghan biscuits. I first tasted the delicious Afghan in a little coffee shop in Christchurch.

To put it bluntly, my first attempt was inedible ( I think when I threw them to the dogs, my Dad said they would probably take a week to chew through them). They were like little brown rocks, they did look nice though, you just couldn't bite into them. I think it was because I still haven't worked out if I was meant to use self-raising flour or plain flour and I have yet to be enlightened. Edmonds uses the obscure term of regular flour (what is regular flour?).




I have since found this recipe below, which combines both the Afghan and Hokey Pokey!


Per serve:
1 Afghan biscuit 1-2 scoops Hokey Pokey or Vanilla Ice Cream
1/2 banana, sliced
2-3 tablespoons Chocolate Icing,
heated chopped walnuts to taste
1. Break up half Afghan biscuit.
2. Layer Afghan biscuit, ice cream and banana in individual serving glasses.
3. Drizzle with warm Chocolate Icing (sauce) and sprinkle with chopped walnuts if desired.


I am not even going to go into the ingredients of the bizarre Lolly Cake. As far as I can tell, the Lolly Cake is unique to New Zealand. I have an ex-Kiwi friend who makes a Lolly Cake each year for her son's birthday. I have yet to acquire a taste for this New Zealand creation, hold the cake and pass the lollies please!

Yes even the lollies are better in New Zealand! One bonus of living in Brisbane, with so many Kiwis, is that now a few stores carry New Zealand lollies. I can now pop in, pick up a bag of milk bottles, close my eyes and dream of living in Aotearoa