Peanut butter cookies with coconut oil (made with homemade peanut butter)

Peanut butter cookies is one of the two things I remember we baked at home, while growing up.  We were not a baking family.  We were more grilling and stove top people.  The other thing we baked at home were pound cakes.  Yes!  And I remember we used Blue Bonnet butter.  US imports into the PI back then which were aplenty.  And pound cakes and peanut butter cookies were a staple in our kitchen.    The most fun out of making the peanut butter cookies were the criss cross patterns which me and my siblings would fight over who should do it.    

These days, with peanut butter overtaken by Nutella in recent years, the girls were not a bit interested with these.  So I had these to myself and my siblings when they came over.

I'd like to say these are healthy because butter is substituted with coconut oil, and we also made our own peanut butter.  So pretty much, we knew what went into these cookies. 

The cookies came out soft and chewy (as we wanted), but you can always make it crunchy.

If you want to make this with your own peanut butter, The Kitchn has the step by step-step easy procedure to make them.  Of you can simly use store-bought peanut butter.

First you will need peanuts.

For our version of this peanut butter, I used salted peanuts because I didn't want to add any more salt while making them.  I also roasted them in the oven first then cooled before making the nut butter.

Then they go into your food processor.  The first pulse gives you a grainy texture of milled or pounded nuts.

 

The next process gives you a smoother nut butter and almost ready to use.  I just added 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and it was ready!  Poured into a jar and kept at room temperature.  It lasted for more than two weeks.   But of course, we ate them with warm Filipino pandesal bought from our local Asian grocer immediately.  Taste test for quality, as you do. 

To make the peanut butter, I adapted the recipe from Elise at Simply Recipes.

 

Ingredients:

100 grams caster sugar

125 grams light brown sugar, packed

 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (store bought or home made)

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 egg

325 grams plain flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2  teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

In a medium sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the coconut oil and sugar until creamy, 2 or more minutes.

Add the peanut butter and eggs and continue beating until light and fluffy.

Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches, continuing to mix with every addition, and until the dough comes off the sides of the bowl. 

Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 175*C.  Prepare a cookie sheet with baking paper or silicone mat.

Shape the dough into rounds, golf ball size.  Place on the prepared pan/cookie sheet 2-3 inches apart.

Flatten the cookies using a fork with a criss cross pattern.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes for chewy cookies, or until golden.

For crispy cookies, bake in a preheated 180*C oven for 10-12 minutes.

These cookies are not sweet, as I lessened the sugar a little bit, and they were surprisingly good.  There were no coconut flavour or odour which some people dislike when using coconut oil.

Tips and tricks:

* To use coconut oil, it helps when the oil is a little bit solid.  Usually, coconut oil solidifies when the weather is cooler.  If you use liquid coconut oil, it will take longer to beat it until light and fluffy.  To solidify your coconut oil, measure what you need and place it in the fridge overnight, and just take it out an  hour or more before using.  

* The cookies lasts longer than when butter is used.  I tested a few of these, and they kept for two weeks in an air tight container room temperature.

Coconut macaroons - Filipino style

There are a few things that make the Filipino home.  Besides the rice cooker and on ready supply of soy sauce, rice and fish sauce, there are the usual things around the home that adds to the Filipino touch. 

There's the tabo in the bathroom, a framed art work of the Last Supper, wooden spoon and fork tandem on the wall and of course the magic mic - your ticket to endless hours of at home videoke. Filipinos do love to sing.  Well majority of us do.  Never mind if one can't hit the notes, karaoke at home is one of the Filipino's fave past time.


Now one of the traits that standout in the Filipino is resilience. We have had bouts with typhoons every year and corruption in the government, and all sorts of negativity that makes it a nation unattractive to some if  not a few.  With the recent calamity that wreaked devastation across the Southern part of the Leyte in the Philippines, properties and lives lost, Filipinos rise to the occasion.  I can't begin to write about how, seeing the horrific footages in the news both local and abroad has made me feel.  While our families and friends are safe away from the devastation, it is my home country and I felt so helpless that I'm so far away when I could be helping out there, on the ground.  I stopped using social media for awhile and have stopped watching the news.  I thought to give it a rest - posting food photos as a bit of respect for those who are going hungy in the typhoon savaged towns.  And while away, have organised a little fundraising donation drive in our little circle of family and friends.  Last weekend, we celebrated my mom's 75th birthday and asked guests to bring a can or two from their pantry to donate.  Sometimes we take it for granted that we have a full pantry with stuff we don't need and it put things in perspective.  Guests brought in more that just a can or two, they even shopped new items and the kids collectively donated lollies put in small ziplock bags with a message - "to the children affected by the typhoon, we hope this makes you smile."  I always say, no help is too small.  We delivered our donations this weekend through a Filipino-Australian community with their 48hr Response led and coordinated by Michelle Baltazar.  Thay have established a website Help after Haiyan and partnered with World Vision Australia to assist with the appeal.

While the devastation is horrific and rebuilding will be massive and will take years, the relief and help from all over the world is overwhelming!  It's heart warming!  It is touching!  So in behalf of the Filipino people, I'd like to say thanks!  Maraming salamat!  


Now back to blogging with this month's theme at the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop camp hosted this month by Nic Cooks with the theme "Say Cheese!" If you haven't read about Nic and her cooking adventures, you need to know that she loves cooking with cheese!  Why she makes her own cheese - check out her Cheesapalooza adventures!  And check out her Goats Curd Ice Cream for this month's SABH post!

So I thought I'd share the Filipinos love for cheddar cheese here.  I thought to make some Queso (cheese)  Ice Cream as its one of my fave store-bought from the Filipino shop, but time has failed me in between organising my mom's birthday party, family commitments, school, work, domesticity, yadda yadda yadda....   so instead, I am sharing a long forgotten post (in my drafts folder) for the a Filipino favourite cupcake - coconut macaroons.  Why it has cheese of course!  Which is supposed to be a secret ingredient, but I'm spilling it here anyway.

This recipe is adapted from Filipino Food Recipes. To make these coconut macaroons.

Ingredients:

2 cups dessicated coconut

1/2 cup (60g) plain flour

80g butter, softened

1 cup (200g) caster sugar

2 eggs

1 395g can condensed milk

1/2  cup grated tasty or cheddar cheese

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Method

Preheat oven to 180*C.

Line 2 cupcake trays (12 1/2-cup capacity) muffin tray or a 24 mini cupcake tray with liners.

In a bowl, mix together the flour and dessicated coconut with a spatula.  Set aside.

In a bowl on a standmixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy in texture.

Add the eggs one at a time and continue beating.

Add in the condensed milk and cheese and continue mixing. 

Add the dry ingredients (flour and dessicated coconut) and mix on slow speed until incorporated.

Spoon into prepared cupcake trays 2/3rds full,  and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

Place in a cooling rack to cool for 10 minutes.

Tips and tricks:

*  You can add another 1/2 cup of grated cheese to the mixture like I do, as I like it really cheesy. This will not affect the texture of the macaroons.

* Do not overbake as they will be hard as a rock if you do.  When they're golden on the top, take them out of the oven and onto cooling racks.

 * These tastes even better the day after they're made.  They can keep at room temperature in an air tight container for a week.

* These are great as homemade gifts too!


 

Paciencia - Filipino meringue cookies

A meringue is really nothing but a foam. 

And what is a foam after all, but a big collection of bubbles? 

And what's a bubble? It's basically a very flimsy little latticework of proteins draped with water. 

We add sugar to this structure, which strengthens it. 

But things can, and do, go wrong. - Alton Brown

Well it is exactly that.  It's a foam created from whipping egg whites and the structure it creates whether soft peaks or stiff and glossy, is from the sugar that we add as we whip and whisk and whip and whisk away.  Meringue is one of the most versatile foundation for any dessert - as a base it is spectacular as in a pavlova. With nuts it becomes sensational as it macarons, and dacquoise and tortes. Topped with some 100s and 1000s (as in specks and sprinkles), they become like that classic treat you see at local bakeries.  On their own, piped in swirls they're pretty as a bow on a present.  They're even sensational in a mess (as in an Eton mess)!

According to Jennifer Field - a pastry chef I follow online, the basic ratio for a stable meringue is one part egg whites and two parts sugar.  As meringue is versatile, they are also the base for a lot of icing and frosting recipes.  I love Italian meringue buttercream in my cakes and use Swiss meringue for a lot of my cupcakes.  And because meringue is the star of this month's theme at the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop hosted by Claire K Creations, it wired up my head with so many possibilities.  But I'd like to let you in on another sweet treat from my home country of 7000 islands, so here comes Paciencia or meringue cookies as they are also called.


Paciencia which means patience in Spanish can only be one of the many food influences which evolved in the Philippines stemming from the Spaniards who set foot in the country.  According to The Winter Guest - Miriam, paciencas are small round cookies typical from various parts of Castilla.
So suffice it to say, it is originally Spanish.  But, as this is so common in the Philippines it has been adapted to suit the Filipino palate.  Pacencias or paciencias are sold commercially in small packets.  Home made, they are packed in jars or small boxes and given as food gifts during the Christmas season. Why its called paciencia eludes me. 





There have been a lot of blogs about this from the Filipino bloggers community worldwide, from Jun Belen, Adora's Box, Oggi - I Can Do That to cite a few, but this version is adapted from Jude of Apple Pie Patis Pate.

These cookies are made with a meringue base, some flour, icing sugar and vanilla.  Piped into small rounds they are baked on low heat till light brown and then cooled. 

To make these meringue cookies:

Ingredients:

30 grams (1/4 cup) plain flour

60 grams (1/2 cup) pure icing sugar

2 egg whites (I used large eggs)

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

30 grams (2 tablespoons) caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 125*C 

Line your cookie sheet or baking tray with baking paper or use a silpat.

In a medium sized bowl, sift the flour and icing sugar together.  Set aside.

Using the bowl of your electric mixer, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until frothy.

Add the caster sugar a tablespoon at a time and whip until the meringue is stiff and glossy.

Add the vanilla and continue to whisk until incorporated.

Fold in the flour and icing sugar mixture until combined.

Spoon the meringue into a piping bag with a 1/4 round tip.

Pipe the meringue into small rounds (almost the size of a AU$1), making sure there is space apart.

Bake in the preheated oven till light brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Take the tray out of the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Tips:

* To get stiff peaks when whipping egg whites, make sure your bowl is squeaky clean.  A tip from my chef teacher at TAFE is to swirl a little bit of white vinegar in the bowl to take off any visible grease or dirt.  Throw the vinegar out, but no need to dry the bowl.  Whip away.

* When piping the meringue cookies, you will get some tips or spikes.  If you want a flat cookie like I do, you can dab the tops of the cookies with you finger.  First pour some warm water in a small bowl, dip your fore finger in the water and dab on top of the cookies.  Don't wet them too much, but just to flat out the spikes.

* To keep the cookies nice and crisp, make sure they are cooled before putting them in jars or containers.

These meringue cookies were devoured straight away by my hungry girls after school.  No time for taste testing.  Just gulp gulp gulp.  These are also best served with good coffee, with any flavoured ice cream or simply on their own.

As the "ber" months arrived (in the Philippines, the "ber" months starting from September signals the season of Christmas and almost every commercial establishment starts decorating for the season), this has reminded me to include this in my Christmas gifts for friends, neighbours and office colleagues.

I reckon they will look pretty in a nice jar with a cute doily and a ribbon. And while we're at it, have you started your Christmas list yet?

Broas - Filipino ladyfinger cookies

"If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sun beams and you will always look lovely." - Roald Dahl

Indeed they will!  And I always tell my girls this very quote.  And every single time, they laugh.  That's because they know the book from where this quote comes from and the story makes them laugh.  It is from Roald Dahl's book The Twits - a story about this two horrible couple who live together with their pets who played a trick a them and got away in the end.  Funny story, really.  And as with all Roald Dahl books, the illustrations give the characters life.  The kids have a good selection of RD books some of which we went to great lenghts to find.  

Now sometimes, good thoughts are hard to come by.  Especially as adults we don't have time to stop and day dream and float, thinking of rainbows and unicorns and fluffy thoughts.  In our daily grind, its difficult balancing what needs to be done, with what we actually want done. And a lot of times it's so draining that what's left of the day is just enough time to wash up and go straight to bed. This is me. Actually.

But there is a way, because those little things of beauty we see everyday?  They add to our good thoughts.  A beautiful bounty of the season's fresh fruits at the local shops, sunrise and sunset feeds on your IG, positive quotes in your FB timeline, a funny movie, a line from a TV sitcom, neighbours who wave back when you pass, blue skies, sunshine (these two we've been having a lot lately, in late Sydney winter.) and cookies!  Of course cookies! 

All these definitely adds to the good vibrations we feel and pass on to people.  It's not always easy to be be in a sunny disposition when at the back of my mind there are bills to pay and commitments and priorities, but I found that looking up and searching for inspiration somewhere puts me in perspective.    

Now every month with the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop, I always try to find inspiration from my heritage.  And try to share in as much Filipino sweets possible and apt for the month's theme. And with this month's Cookie Monster theme hosted by Sophie from The Sticky and Sweet, there was only one route to take.  And this was to make the Filipino sweet delicacy of broas - or ladyfinger cookies.  There's basically only 3 ingredients here: egg, flour and sugar! 

Broas is a delicacy in the Philippines and these are one of those treats you purchase from sweets shops.  I don't know of anyone making these back home as they are conveniently available everywhere.  Mazapan Broas is the brand I grew up with because our province is a few minutes drive away from their main bakery.  The broas are packed and sold by the tin (round and square, short and tall), similar to a Milo can. These are baked on the premises using old techniques and old style stone ovens.  There are a lot of other brands around the country like Crescens and some commercial ones like La Pacita  but I'm guessing Osang's in Bohol is the only remaining one still using artisanal approach to making broas.  From Market Manila's post, they still make broas the way they used to from five decades ago and they have never upgraded to modern equipments till now.  So in reading his post about Osang's, I tried to take in a few of their tips.

 This recipe is adapted from Recipes of the Philippines shared by Oggi here.

Ingredients

3 eggs, separated

80g (6 tablespoons) caster sugar

65g (8 tablespoons) sifted plain flour

2-3 tablespoons icing sugar for dusting

Method

Preheat the oven to 170*C

Line two baking trays with parchment/baking paper.

 In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1 tablespoon of the caster sugar until pale.  Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, whip the egg whites until frothy/foamy.

Add the caster sugar, one tablespoon at a time and continue whipping until you get stiff peaks and the meringue is glossy.

Fold in the beaten egg yolks.

Add the sifted flour and gently fold until incorporated.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and pipe into 3.5 inch long strips.

Using a fine sieve, dust the cookies with icing sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.

Turn off the heat and with oven door slightly open, leave the trays in the oven for 15 minutes more, to let the cookies dry.

Tips:

* When whipping the egg whites, don't add the sugar in one go to save time.  It's important to add the sugar in batches to avoid deflating the aeration.

* You can use a piping bag with a plain round tip or simply a large ziplock bag and cut off one corner tip.

* You can leave the cookies in the oven for longer in low temperature 50-60*C, to make them more crispy outside and soft inside.

* You can dust more icing sugar after baking if preferred.

  

I have made these many times before using a TAFE recipe and process for sponge fingers which we used to make a classic Charlotte Russe in class, but this recipe and the result is entirely different.  

As with simple Filipino sweets, these are eaten by themselves, dunked into freshly brewed Batangas (barakong kape) coffee.  No creams or creme fraiche here.  Just a simple cookie.  Nothing else.  Now that's a good thought, don't you think so?

Peanut butter choc-chip cookie dough bites

"Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap." - Barbara Jordan

That would be a great idea, right?  I mean imagine, the whole world - politicians, world leaders, miners, teachers... everyone, would actually sit down at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, have some cookies and milk and take a nap!  Imagine what it would be like!  It would be WOW!  There's be some giggling, and laughing and for a few minutes each day, there'd be harmony and peace.  Really!  

I've read about that quote by American politician and leader of the Civics Rights Movement Barbara Charline Jordan in the book by one of my favourite authors Robert Fulghum in his book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. It's one of those staright-forward-simple books that inspires and makes you laugh and think a little.  I've quoted this book many times in previous posts, including this here.   And writing this post, I am once again drawn back to it.  If you haven't had the chance to read it, go get yourself a copy and read on!  I promise you, you'll sit back and smile at every page.

Now back to the order of things.  This month's theme at the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop is hosted by the lovely Nic from Dining with a Stud.  She's come up with a real challenge of sweets without heat. Check out her raw chocolate ganache tart - with a surprise ingredient!   The pictures are so drool-worthy!

Initially I thought there's no way I can make anything sweet without heat - but then I remembered when cookie doughs became a hit a few years back.  Maybe an onset from Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavour combinations.  Who knows.   But I first saw them from Joy the Baker , bookmarked and never really got the chance to try.  Recently though, I've been back on the Pinterest arena and once again hooked on pinning and browsing, with lots of hours wasted (?) bookmarking and planning stuff to do.  And so this post is inspired by a Pinterest-find from the Disney Family.com site - cookie dough bites.  

To make these peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough bites:

125g unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 cup bittersweet/dark chocolate chips

Method

In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar and butter until pale.

Add the flour, vanilla, salt and peanut butter and continue to beat until everything is incorporated.

Add the chocolate chips and mix with a wooden spoon.

Using a teaspoon, shape into round balls.  

Chill for a few minutes.

These are quite addictive.  They're sweet with some bursts of saltiness.  Something like a chocolate-covered pretzel or a salted caramel ganache.  I must say the peanut butter made it a little bit better.  Packed and wrapped with a ribbon - they can be great Christmas presents too!  Eaten as is, chilled or covered with melted dark chocolate, these are great anytime of the day. With milk, and possibly a nap afterwards. 

Ensaymada - sweet Filipino pastry

Last week was the busiest our kitchen has ever been.  Testing and testing cake and cupcake recipes and shoppiing and preparing for that weekend party.  You know, all those little things you plan and do for a milestone birthday?  Yeah.  That.  I had it all in my head a couple of weeks back.  Just a simple birthday party with some popcorn and a few DVDs.  But then someone whispered in my ear something that made absolute sense - it is a 10th year birthday  sothere needs to be a little bit more than DVD and popcorn.  And so, hours and hours of Pinterest browsing happened.  There were pom poms to be made, lootbags and decorations to be bought, and a two-weeks-before idea of a Minute-to-Win-It game was thought of.  There were cupcakes and cupcakes and cakes baked and eaten even before the weekened kicked in.

And all those days of planning and preparation went off in 4 hours.  I'd say with lots of happy cheers, fun and laughs.  It was all worth it. Check out my IG gallery for some of the photos.

Here's a photo of the cakes on the day - Chiffon Cake wtih creme chantilly frosting and honeycomb bits, Chocolate Biscuit Cake with strawberries, Chocolate Cake with pink Italian Meringue Buttercream with raspberries.

Now back to blogging and this. A long over due post which was promised weeks ago to some IG friends.  A Goldilocks Bakebook recipe for the most-loved Filipino sweet pastry called Ensaymada. 

To make this Filipino sweet bread:

1 packet Tandaco instant dry yeast

160 ml warm water

450g plain flour, sifted

65g caster sugar

2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

60 ml evaporated milk

80g unsalted butter, melted


Toppings:

50g unsalted butter, melted (extra for brushing)

Half to 1 cup grated cheese

Half cup raw sugar

Method (a few in photos)

Dissolve the yeast in 60ml of the water and add half a teaspoon of the sugar.  Let this sit for about 10 minutes until the mixture develops bubbles.

In a mixing bowl with the dough hook, place the sifted flour, sugar and salt and mix until incorporated.

Add the dissolved yeast, remaining water, eggs and evaporated milk.

Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until the gluten develops - approximately 4-5 minutes.  

Add the melted butter and continue mixing until the gluten develops. The dough will be a little bit sticky. (see below photo)

Keep the dough in the bowl, cover with cling wrap and and let it sit for 15-30 minutes at room temperature.

Punch down the dough in the bowl to release air pockets.

Place dough on your kitchen bench sprinkled with a little flour.

Divide the dough into 4 parts.  Then divide into pieces - approximately 50-60g each.  Cover with a plastic sheet or tea towel and leave for another 15 minutes.

To make the individual rolls, get one piece of the 60g dough and using a rolling pin, roll the dough piece into a rectangle, ideally 8" x 5".  Otherwise, as long as you roll them thinly, I don't think the size will matter.

Brush the surface with butter. 

Roll the thin dough into a rod

Then twirl into shape, locking the ends to seal.

Place each roll into individual greased mini pans (or ensaymada moulds), or simply use a lined round or square pan like I did.

Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rise until double in size.  Approximately 30 mintues to 1 hour, at room temperature.

Bake in a preheated 180*C oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden in colour.

Let the bread cool for 10-15 minutes.  Brush with butter and sprinkle with raw sugar and  grated cheese.

Tips:  

* A batch of this makes 15-18 rolls

 

* Rolling the dough thinly creates the soft layers in the roll

 

* When rolling the dough, make sure your bench top is generously sprinkled with flour to avoid the dough from sticking on the table/bench top.

*  You can fill the dough with anything. Instead of butter, we tried Nutella and it worked perfectly well.  You can use purple yam jam (ube jam) or coconut jam for another Filipino variety. 

Foreground - the rolls with Nutella filling

Background - the ensaymade rolls with butter filling

I think I need to be more generous with the Nutella next time.

Grated cheese on top!  Yummy!

To make these Filipino ensaymada rolls is similar to making cinnamon rolls we've made here, sans the cinnamon but different in a way that it's rolled thinly and the bread is soft.  What makes it Filipino is the combination of sweet and savoury in the rolls - butter, sugar and cheese for toppings!  Where else can you find that combination?!  Hope you enjoy yourselves making these.

Now, I'm still reeling from that weekend party.  We have outdone ourselves with the mess and cleaning up we've made, which only means one thing.  The party was a success!  All the kids enjoyed playing the challenges, filled themselves with party food and cake!  Ooh, and they loved the cakes!  Well, I guess the chocolate cakes had the bigger fan base.