Browned butter M&M and chocolate chip cookies (gluten free version)

 

A few years ago, early on in my blogging (through a different blogging platform) adventure, I wrote about my experience raising daughters and triplets for that matter.  They were still toddlers when we arrived in Australia and my eldest was 8yo.  It was a struggle adjusting to life without a nanny (called yaya back home in the Philippines) and suddenly facing the task of parenthood upfront.    Back in the PI, with a full time job and the luxury of having help around the house and with the kids, it was so easy to escape the responsibilty of being a parent, except when really necessary - taking them to their monthly pediatrician visits, attending school meetings and functions, organising birthdays, etc.    It was the standard of living for any working parent/s.   Those little milestones during the day are missed and forgotten, because we were not home.  We were both working.  

When we moved to Australia, it was not easy.  All of a sudden, I had to deal with my tween's dramas and the toddlers' tantrums, when all I had in my head was the idea of playing at home, dabbling with playdough and paint, quitely helping with homework, preparing home cooked meals, a spic and span home and all around having a grand fun time.  I must have had the idea of a 50s housewife wearing my hair in a bun and donning an apron with homebaked cookies wafting in the air from the kitchen oven.  Of course, there were a lot of dramas and crying and not wanting to go to school, not wanting to drink milk, potty training, dealing with getting sick, cleaning up after getting sick, dealing with the ups and downs of girl hormones - pre-teen and then teenhood, and more. 

Now that the girls are maturing, there is less yelling in our home and more conversations. Their beautiful personalities are coming through and they are they own person.  My eldest now 17 year old has slowly adjusted to her monthly hormonal roller coaster and there is less angst and moans and grunts and more words exchanged.  Although I missed having to lecture her about having her period and period pains and all other growing up topcis (no thanks to Healthy Harold).  And the girls while still adjusting to tweenhood, their interests is making me and hubby jump from one fad to the next - from One Direction to Rainbow Looms, to camps and sleepovers.  

Parenting, as it is - multiples or not, is a responsibility that is beyond anything.  There's a lot of hit and miss, trial and error, and even books and so-called experts tell us we're doing something wrong or right or we're this, and we're that and that our kids will grow up needing regular psychiatric meetings.  There is a lot of parenting books out there, parenting articles saying all these and before, I used to read them all, and then compare my kids developments to others.  Bad idea.  The truth is, we (parents) each have our styles and there is no cookie-cutter approach to a single child.  Each child is unique and usually, the parent style suits the family dynamics.    

These days, I wear my hair short.  There is the aroma of cookies (and cakes, and brownies) wafting from the kitchen oven.  We play Monopoly and Boggle more and watch reruns of Friends on TV.  We watch movies together (from Frozen to 100 Foot Journey).  There is the occasional groans and I-didn't-hear-you episodes, little dramas that add spice to our family, but over all, I think we're approaching a higher order of parenting in our own little way. 

 This recipe is adapted from Ree Drummond - The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

225g salted butter

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups + 2 tablespoons gluten free flour*

2 (heaping) teaspoons espress powder (or coffee granules)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup mini M&Ms

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Method

Preheat oven to 180*C

In a bowl, combine the flour, espresso powder, salt and baking soda.  Set aside.

Melt the half of the butter in a pan until golden (with brown bits in the bottom).  Transfer to a small bowl including all the brown bits. Do not burn.  Set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the brown and caster sugar until combined.

Add eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and beat until mixed through.

Add the cooled melted butter and continue to beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl every now and then, until incorporated.

In three batches, add the flour mixture while continuing to beat the dough.  

Using a small ice cream scoop, or teaspoon, scoop dough onto a parchment lined (or if using silicone mat) baking tray. 

Chill in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.

 Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden.

     

Tips and tricks:

* I used a local (Woolworths) brand free from gluten flour which is a combination of tapioca starch, maize starch corn flour and ice flour which made for thinner and crispy cookies

* Use regular plain flour like PW if you're not avoiding gluten

* Bake in 160*C oven for longer if you prefer more golden cookies

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.

Oreo brownies for the school lunch box

Aah. The school lunch box.  What's in it today?   The school lunch box is a tricky thing you see, especially when schools are "nut-free" and all my girls just really want for is anything with Nutella.  Either that, or they'd rather have rice with anything (even hotdogs) than a ham and cheese sandwich.  Yes, I have raised them well into the Filipino food culture.


The new school year has started and we are back again into routine.  Morning lunch box prep, homework, assessments, piano lessons, cello, sports, etc etc etc.  Although we have minimised the girls out-of-school activities, I find that the start of the new school year always brings unnecessary anxiety.  Are the lunch boxes packed, water bottles, snacks, fruits.... do you have your library bag?, did I sign that permission note?, did we check head for lice? (yes - the most important of them all!).  Did we?  Did I?  .....


Sometimes I get organised and prep the lunches in the evenings and then get that extra few minutes of sleep in the mornings.  Most of the time, I open the fridge door in the morning and prep what's on offer.  Sometimes its a jam sandwich, or a cup of rice with what's left over from dinner, at odd times the girls will have some onigiri because I felt like I had superpowers for the day.


I drool at lunch box bento boxes prepared by other mums who I follow on IG like Nami from Just One Cookbook.  I want to, but at the same time, I don't.  Hahaha!  With 4 girls going back to school, I don't think I have enough superpowers to do them all equally attractive and bento-box like.


While I don't prepare bento-box like lunchboxes, I do love going back to their favourites and adapting them to the school's nut-free policy. This is a favourite brownie recipe with the nuts replaced with Oreos.  Now who doesn't love Oreos?

Ingredients

200g dark chocolate, chopped

125g butter, chopped into cubes

1 1/4 cups or 280g caster sugar

3/4 cup or 115g plain flour

1/4 cup or 30g unsweetened cocoa powder

150g Oreos (1 foil pack from the double-pack box), roughly chopped

3 eggs, slightly beaten

 3-4 packs mini Oreos for topping

Method

Pre-heat over to 180 degrees C. Line a 28cm X 18cm brownie pan with non stick baking paper.

Put the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. 

Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside to cool slightly, 5-10 minutes. 

Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder and Oreos in a large bowl. 

Using a wooden spoon, stir in the eggs and chocolate mixture until just combined.

Pour into the prepared pan, and top with the mini Oreos (as many or as little as you want) slightly pushing them into the batter.

Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until moist crumbs cling to a skewer when inserted into the centre.

 




Tips and tricks:

* Brownies are very versatile.  You can add any kind of nuts or leave them plain. 

*  Instead of Oreos, you can also top them with salted pretzels, Ferrero Rochers, Reese's cups - which I've seen from IG feeds.

* Here's another tip I learned from TAFE when lining square pans.  Cut the edges diagonally, and then slid them side by side to fit the pan.  No need to cut a square and line the sides. 

And so 7 weeks more before the next school holiday, but I'm not counting.  While I surrender back to the chaos and regularity that is our life, I also love sitting back and enjoying the peace and quiet when I'm not working and have the day to myself - which days have been filled with physical activity: walking and badminton and yes, more time in the kitchen to cook and bake.

Now, what's for the lunch box tomorrow?

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?