Buttermilk Doughnuts

Freshly made Buttermilk Donuts

After learning how to make butter, I had a by-product that could not be found in the grocery stores: the TRUE BUTTERMILK. This is the milk that is left over after churning heavy cream to make butter. In the grocery stores, what you will find is the cultured buttermilk, which is whole milk made with a starter culture. It's easy enough to make, but it tastes different from the real buttermilk. This true buttermilk can be used in a lot of recipes ranging from soups to cakes. It makes pancakes and cakes fluffy.

This recipe was one that was shared to me by my SIL after her husband showed me how to make butter. They gave the buttermilk to me and a pound of frozen butter they had made in the past. I immediately mixed the recipe as soon as I got home, then chilled it until I was ready to make the donuts. My whole family, including my picky husband, loves these. It has now become a regular snack/dessert item for us right after I make butter (which I do now about every week).

BananaApple Muffins (Banana Muffins with Banana-Apple Jam Filling)

Pin It

BananApple-Filled Banana Muffins 

I have been baking banana muffins a lot but never made a post about it, mainly because such recipes abound on the net, that an additional one from me that I based on simplyrecipes will just add to the net clutter. However, after I made BananApple Jam, I thought I'd marry the two just for fun. So I baked this just before I left for work today.

Chinese-Style Fried Donuts - Manang K's version

Deep-fried donut balls

Nearby is a Chinese restaurant that my family visits once in a while when I am pressed for time to prepare supper or just plain lazy, or my sons crave the smorgasbord of foods. My husband always would get these deep fried donut balls, which I myself love....IF they are FRESHLY cooked. They are so good because they are so pillow-soft, yet springy to touch. Kind of chewy yet your teeth readily sink in them.

Then recalling an email from a reader (named Irene) who told me she loved my supersoft ensaymada recipe which she modified to include using tangzhong. And she asked whether I have tried tangzhong. Intrigued, I researched what it was. And when I did learn some about it, I made a mental note to use it sometime.

So when I had the urge to try to recreate at home these Chinese style deep fried donut balls, I thought about using tangzhong to see whether it would make the donut springy yet soft. And it did.

My family says my version is even better. So now after 3 batches of changing and trying variations in the recipe, here is my final recipe:

Ingredients & Instructions:

A: Tangzhong - made from 1/3 cup of bread flour mixed with 1 cup of whole milk, cooked on medium heat while constantly stirring. Use half of this mix for a batch of the donut mixture below. (Store the remaining in fridge and use up within 3 days).


B: Donut mix
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup tangzhong (about half of the above mix)
1 large egg
3 tbsp butter, cut up
2 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp milk powder (I use KAF)
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp bread machine yeast


Prepare dough as per your bread maker manufacturer's instruction (mine says to place liquid ingredients at room temp first in the pan, followed by the dry ingredients, with yeast as last to be placed on top of the dry ingredients.) Set on dough cycle.

Once dough is ready (after 1 and 1/2 hours), start heating up the oil for deep frying on medium heat. Place dough on a surface generously sprinkled with flour. Sprinkle flour on top of the dough as well. Flatten with a rolling pin. Use either a round biscuit cutter or donut cutter.

donut cutters

small donuts

larger donuts

C: Oil for deep frying (I use pork lard for deep frying any dough. The best!). You must have about 2 inches high to start with. Flatten the dough once more if you have to, before placing in the hot oil (you can try placing one first to see if oil is hot enough. Dough should be done on one side within two minutes ). Dough will puff up as the oil heats it up. Flip to cook the other side. Drain on wire rack and cool a bit.



D: Vanilla sugar for sprinkling(I have a quart jar of sugar with two pods of vanilla bean inside, and that has been sitting for several months now so that the sugar has imbibed the vanilla flavor). If you don't have this, plain sugar will do, or you might want to use cinnamon sugar instead.

Note: Special credit goes to Christine's Recipes for the idea on how to make the tangzhong and for the recipe on which I based mine on. I only changed the recipe after I got feedback from hubby that the first one was "too chewy but still soft" so instead of using bread flour, I tried the all purpose one, then changed the amounts of other ingredients. Now hubby says, "You got the consistency right this time." And my sons are saying, "It's official, Ma. Your donuts are better than those in ChinaTing."

Piaya/Piyaya

Piaya

Piaya --- I got my first taste of this Bacolod delicacy when my Ilonggo friend (classmate from high school to college) gave some to me. It was not love at first bite. It was more of an acquired taste for me. And after several bites, I was hooked (same thing happened to me with the pinasugbo that she also introduced me to).

A reader asked me before for the recipe, and I searched and recommended one that seemed promising. If I remember it right, it was this recipe by blueapron. While my outcome was good, it was not exactly how I remember it, or maybe it was my lack of skills in making it that made it different. For one thing, the filling crystallized and hardened after cooling (should still remain gooey and the whole piaya should remain a bit pliable still). Second, I had holes because it was quite hard to flatten the disk without making holes...I probably should have used bread flour and a little bit more water to come up with stronger dough. Don't get me wrong; the outcome was good. And I think I can remedy some issues with my notes below.

However, after my kids and hubby tasted it and liked it as is, I think I am going to stick to the recipe. So, thanks, blueapron!

My apologies for posting about something that I tried only for the first time. Read my notes below before you proceed to see if you would like to experiment some more. This one is time-consuming (like most Filipino delicacies are), and I don't think I will try to experiment again anytime soon.

Also, I have a video of these, but I really don't have the time to edit them and make into a video worthwhile of your viewing time, so please bear with the photos. The written instructions should be clear enough to guide you.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick; 1/4 lb)
1/4 cup + 1 to 2 tbsp water
250 gm muscovado sugar (I used 1 tbsp per dough ball, so roughly around 20 tbsp)
1 cup of sesame seeds (you will most probably have leftovers)

Instructions:
Soften butter or cut into small cubes. Mix with flour. Add 1/4 cup water and knead to form a dough. If you need to add more water to make it more cohesive, add 1 tbsp at a time and knead until you have a soft and pliable dough that is not sticky to touch. Let rest for about 10 minutes wrapped in plastic.

Divide into twenty pieces (I measure about 18-20 gm per dough ball). Roll to flatten using rolling pin. Measure sugar (1 tbsp if you want it sweet; use less if you don't) and compact that (by pushing the sugar against the spoon with your thumbs) before placing at the middle of the flattened dough (so that it does not crumble right away as soon as you fold the edges over the sugar). Gather edges together and pinch. Flatten a bit with your palm. Dunk in sesame seeds and press slightly for the seeds to adhere. Transfer to countertop and flatten carefully with the rolling pin. Keep covered in plastic until ready to cook.

Heat a nonstick pan on low. Lightly brown one side then flip. Some sugar may ooze out. Wipe the pan to remove excess sugar and sesame seeds before proceeding with the next batch. Cool completely on wire rack then place in ziploc bag.

Notes: Some of the commenters at blueapron's said the piaya filling was supposed to still be gooey even when cooled and not return to crystallized form. I tend to agree with that. Probably for experiments, you might want to try adding a little bit of water and flour or cornstarch or tapioca, just like in Ferna's website. The purpose for the water is to dissolve the flour/starch/tapioca while cooking, and act as colloidal glue for the caramelizing sugar, so that come cooling time, instead of crystallizing, the caramelized sugar will stay in the colloid mixture and not re-crystallize, hopefully resulting to the gooey consistency that stays like paste.

Update 12/17/2012:
Cherry made a comment below to share her version which avoids crystallization of the sugar. Here's what she had to say:

Hi Manang! This is my first time to comment on your blog..my first time to visit your blog was yesterday when i was searching for ensaimada and cinnamon rolls recipe. However when I came to this piaya recipe, i got interested enough to try this first. I however made some adjustments, especially with the filling as i noted your concern that there was crystallization. So here's my final recipe I'd like to share with you:
2 cups AP Flour
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar which i used as I had no muscovado sugar available today
1 tsp honey mix to the sugar( to prevent crystallization, you can also use molasses to add more flavor)
Mix shortening and flour til crumbly (use hands to better mix it in) then add water and knead til soft. divide into 18 small balls,
Flatten a ball into thin circle (you can just use your hand to flatter)put in center small amount of sugar with the honey/molasses, cover with another flattened sheet, seal at edges somewhat like a pie, be careful to flatten to remove air pockets, cook over non stick skillet or pan til you get browned spots or surfaces, some sugar may also ooze out. 
I took some pics but was not able to upload..they look very much like the original piayas, only softer and crisper on the outside. Hope your readers try this! 
I will be trying out the ensaimada and cinnamon rolls for this christmas and will give you feedback soon! Thanks! 
Cherry

Rice Puto

Rice 

Rice Puto - not just puti

I would have said "Putong Puti" on the title, but because I used several flavorings to come up with bite-size puto to bring tomorrow to my SIL's for Easter celebration, these mini-puto have pastel colors,and will be the right way to Filipinize Easter, I would say!

I used rice flour (to save time), and added coconut milk instead of plain water just because I love the flavor imparted by it. I also added fresh pandan leaves to the boiling water for additional flavor.

My kids liked them, tasting each and seeing which flavor they liked best. Hubby was likewise delighted.

I also experimented with using additional tapioca starch (added 1 tsp to 1 tbsp to one of the 4 colors) to see whether it would help prevent the "eruption"; I also tried to lessen the heat as soon as I placed the bamboo steamer, so as not to make "gulat" and create that erupted look. Not that I don't like the erupted top; I was just wondering how some puto vendors manage not to have any on theirs. These seem effective, and tapioca subtly changes the consistency to make it a little bit chewier (almost rubber-like, but not tough, whereas pure rice would result to a more crumbly texture, especially if batter is not thin enough, or if rice did not soak long enough).

I will have to make special mention of MaMely of PinoyAmericanRecipes for the puto molds and the wonderful Pinoy flavorings she sent to me. Thanks, MaMely!

Update as of 2/4/2011: WonderWoman tried this recipe (after previously trying 2 other recipes that she did not particularly like) and I got the thumbs up from her! Thanks, WonderWoman!

Ingredients:
1 package (16 oz or 1 lb) rice flour (regular, red writings on package)
1-1/2 cup water
1 can (14 oz or 13.5 oz) premium coconut milk (unsweetened, first pressing)
1-1/2 cup sugar
a dash or two of salt
1 tbsp baking powder
few drops of McCormick flavorings (langka, ube, pandan)

Optional:
tapioca starch (1 tbsp for the whole batch, or 1 tsp for each after dividing)
pandan leaves for the boiling water

Instructions:
In a plastic container, blend rice flour with water very well. Cover and let rest in room temp overnight.


Next morning, add everything else except flavorings and mix very well until smooth. Batter will be very very thin. Do not be tempted to add any more flour.

Prepare water for steaming. Add pandan leaves if desired.

Divide batter into 4. Add a few drops of the flavorings to 3, leaving one white, so you end up with 4 different colors. You may add tapioca (1 tsp each) to each of these, or try one with tapioca and see if you like the result. If you don't, leave the rest alone.

Lay the puto molds on top of cloth lining as shown (I use the ones in the photo below; I bought it from Walmart, where the housekeeping/building stuff are). Pour the batter almost to the brim of the molds. When water is briskly boiling, steam the puto and time for 10 minutes for these bite-size puto (muffin size will probably take 15-20 minutes). If using metal pan, line the lid also with dry cloth to absorb moisture and prevent condensation. Do not steam the puto too long that the excess moisture gets absorbed by the cooked puto that might result to sogginess. In trying to figure out the right steaming time for your size of puto, try a few, steam for about 10 minutes, try it (or break in half to see the middle), before you proceed with the rest of the batter.

Once done, remove right away from the mold and cool on wire rack so excess moisture evaporates. These puto molds easily releases the puto; I just had to slip the tip of a toothpick at one side, the gently pull it out and drop onto the cooling rack. Store (what you will not eat right away) in airtight container when cooled completely.

Pinoy Cheese Cupcake

Pinoy Cheese Cupcake

This is what the typical neighborhood type of Filipino bakeshops would tout as their "special"kababayan in the sense that it uses cheese. A closer look at the ingredients would indicate that this is basically a muffin topped with grated cheese. Contrary to how the Western cheesecake is, this does not have any form of cream cheese (or anything cheese) in its batter.

This was my favorite muffin in my Tatay's bakery, especially when fresh out of the oven with its crunchy top. Once cooled, I would wrap them individually in small clear plastic bags and seal using the candle (I got proficient at making the seal without actually touching the flame; just the heat, so that the plastic would not have any dark marking as it does when it touches the yellow flame).

Husband had a taste of the batter and thought it tasted like butter cookies. (Hmmmm....maybe I should try making some into drop cookies.) When it was done, I had hubby taste it. His reaction was..."Hmmm, that's good!" Kids' reaction? Same. (gaya-gaya, puto-maya...)

This recipe was adapted from Mrs. Daisy Alonzo's recipe.

Ingredients:
1 bar (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 cans (14 oz each) sweetened condensed milk
3-2/3 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
cheddar cheese, finely grated, for topping

Instructions:
Line 2 muffin pans with paper cups.
Preheat oven to 350 ° F
Mix flour and baking powder well in a bowl.
Using a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together on medium speed. Turn speed to slow and add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually increase speed to medium and beat well.
Turn speed to slow and slowly add the condensed milk. Beat well on medium speed for about a minute.
Turn to slow again and add the dry ingredients. Increase speed to medium and add oil. Beat well for about another minute. Add vanilla and beat to blend.
Transfer batter to a piping bag and pipe into the muffin cups, leaving about 1/4 inch space at the top.
Top with grated cheese (preferably the orange-colored cheddar cheese).
Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pans for even baking. (If you want, you may add some more cheese at this point).Bake for another 10 minutes. Enjoy with maple syrup or condensed milk if desired.
Transfer to cooling rack and completely cool before storing in ziploc bags those that you will not be able to consume right away.

UPDATE: This was tried by My Expat Mommy who lives in Qatar and has now included this item in her baked goods that she sells. Her fb page is here.

The original recipe that I got from asiarecipe.com forum was as follows:
Pinoy Cheese Cupcake-Kababayan
(Pinoy Cheese Muffin)
Recipe courtesy of Mrs. Daisy Alonzo
Ingredients:
1 bar butter
4 eggs
100 grams sugar
2 can of condensed milk
15 grams cooking oil
5 grams baking powder
500 grams. all-purpose flour
you will need:
cheese grater
2 ounce paper baking cups
cake mixer, mixing bowl and spatula
Paraan ng pagluluto:
Hiwa-hiwain muna ang butter para madali itong lummbot.
Ilagay ang butter sa isang mixing bowl, ihalo ang asukal at apat na itlog.
Haluin ang mga sangkap na ito sa cake mixer. Gamitin ang pinakamahinang
speed upang hindi tumapon ang butter mixture.
Idagdag na din sa mixture ang dalawang lata ng condensed milk.
Ihinto muna ang mixer.
Pagsamahin naman ang harina at baking powder at saka ihalo sa butter mixture.
Paandarin muli ang mixer sa pinakamahinang speed. Haluing mabuti hanggang sa
maging basa ang mga sangkap.
Ihalo ang 15 grm ng mantika.
Pabilisin ang mixer hanggang maging pino ang sangkap.
Patayin ang mixer, ito na ngayon ang cupcake mixture.
Ihanay ang paper baking cups. Magbuhos ng cupcake mixture sa bawat baking cups
Punuin hanggang ikatlong bahagi ng bawat cups
Lagyan ng grated cheese ang cupcake mixture.
Ipasok sa mainit na oven, ihurno ng mga 30 minuto.
Luto na ang cheese cupcake. Palamigin

Binangkal

Last week I was emailed by a reader requesting for a post on Binangkal, which is popular in Cebu. I had no idea what it was, but I was intrigued enough, especially with some craving to make some munchies soon because I was not making any the past weeks due to the dust all over the house as my husband was working on our sunroom.

Plus, I needed a break too. Cooking/baking has always been therapeutic for me. So I tried this recipe I had been eyeing since last week. I wanted to decrease the ingredients but the list makes it hard to do that. So I followed the recipe. I had a lot of dough to start with, but since I had no idea what binangkal was, except that it was pretty much like doughnut in that it was fried dough, I thought it would be just fine as the first batches could be a learning phase for me.

True enough, pingpong-sized round dough dropped into the medium hot oil gave me darkly browned binangkal with uncooked middle dough. How could I come up with cooked middle without burning the outside? I came up with this solution: smaller dough, flattened somehow into discs. Rationale: Flatter dough means the heat will be close enough to the middle to cook that part well. The smaller dough ensures cooking the middle part without burning the outer.

I had the extra advantage of having the puffing up of the middle part as a visual cue that the middle is getting done. That was quite unexpected but very effective means of assessing the doneness (aside from brown color at the outside).

Kids approved it, and especially enjoyed these treats with maple syrup. Hubby tried it and said it was different, then got a can of Pepsi and had some more binangkal. So I guess he kinda liked it, although it was "different." It is wonderfully crunchy on the outside (Hey, Claire, you will not break your teeth with this one, I promise!)

Ingredients:

5 Cups All Purpose Flour
5 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder (preferably Calumet)
1 Box Dark Brown Sugar GH (2 1/2 cups)
3 Whole Eggs
1 Small Can Evaporated Milk (2/3 cup) + 2 tbsp milk (whole milk or if you have extra evap milk)
1 tsp Vanilla

Instructions:

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly until fine (I used the food processor in pulses.)
Mix remaining ingredients: eggs, vanilla, milk.
Combine all dry and liquid ingredients by hand.
Add more milk if it is too dry until you obtain the correct consistency. The dough should
be stiff enough to mold into a ball. Don't make it too wet (read on and you will see why).
(Adjust to your preferred Binangkal size).
Lay the pinched dough on aluminum foil.
Get a cup of tap or filtered water as preferred (this is why you should not make the dough too wet in the first place).
Dip two fingers of your hand and wet the palm of the other hand for molding the dough.
Pick up each dough and roll between both palms of your hand to shape into balls.
Roll dough in a bowl of sesame seeds then press between fingers to make them flat (depressed more at the middle than at the sides). When done, you are ready to fry.
Heat your frying pan in high heat then lower to Medium-LOW when you begin frying because the pan must be very hot to start. You can try one first to gauge your own stove and adjust in the next batches. Start with few, try to open some and see if you already like what you have before going full blast with more per batch.
Place only about 6-8 pieces per batch. Once all have floated, wait until the top parts puff up and crack, then tip over to cook the other side. Count about 30 seconds once you have tipped over all pieces. Take note of which ones are the first, as they are the ones to get out first. Check to see doneness of the underside (should be uniformly browned, not whitish in the cracks. (My video below is quite different at I tipped too soon just by counting. It will be more reliable to wait for puffing up of the middle before tipping over.)
Prepare a cooling wire rack over a cookie sheet to hold cooked Binangkal for cooling purposes and to let excess oil drip.
Line your storage container with paper towel. Store in airtight container when completely cool.
The Binangkal will keep for a week (according to recipe source).

To Mercie, I hope you will like this!

Kababayan (Filipino Muffins)

Note: I myself have not tried this recipe. I did not like it even when I was still a child growing up selling these in our tindahan/bakery, because I did not like the consistency. There was nothing special I found in it, but there were customers who continued to buy and eat them for some reason. So, for the sake of those who might be missing these and are interested to try and to see whether it was the same kababayan you used to like back in the Philippines, I am posting it here, as shared by a fb friend. Please be forewarned that there were those who tried this recipe and commented below, with poor feedback. I do not know when I will try this recipe. For those who have tried and did not like this, I hope you will experiment and troubleshoot what could be missing, and share your own corrected recipe. Thanks!

This recipe and photo above were shared by my fb friend Aileen Nopuente. Thanks for your generosity, Aileen!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 cup softened butter( room temperature)
2 cup all purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
1 Tbs. baking powder 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 cup warm water
yellow food colouring,as needed for colour
28 ounces,sweetened condensed milk (2 cans)
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 190"C .
- Combine sugar,salt,sugar,cream of tartar and soft butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.blend for 4 mins at lowest speed.
- Stir together in a separate bowl the all-purpose flour,cake flour & baking powder.
- Stir togeteher vanilla,water,yellowcolour and condensed milk in another small bowl.
- Add wet and dry ingredients along with oil alternately to mixer until it forms a smooth batter.
- Fill-each well-greased muffin cup with 1/2 cup batter.bake for 22 mins. or until toothpick inserted in cake center comes out clean.
- When the muffin is almost done, turn off the oven & partially open the oven door for another 5 mins. before taking out the muffin.

Puto Pao/Cua Pao

I am not really sure what this is called. The first time I tasted what seemed like puto with filling like that of siopao, it was when a sister-in-law brought some from Laguna. I loved it then. She said it was called cuapao. The shape was rectangular.

With previous browsing on the net, some called it puto pao. The cua pao search I made led me to a photo that did not look like what my ex-SIL brought. So, I don't know what this is really called. But simply put, that pao that I had then from SIL is basically puto with siopao filling. Period.

Now, with my easy method of making puto from boxed white cake mix (and I recently bought a pint of pure pasteurized egg whites), I made some puto pao (or cua pao?). After my kids loved them paos, I thought I should have a set of rectangular or square silicone muffin cups. So I bought a set of square and triangular. Next time I make puto pao again, I will use the square ones(they are larger too than the typical muffin cup shape). We already tried them with brownies and once the brownies were cool enough, they were easy to remove from the silicone cups.

I used leftover beef pares for filling (note: the beef pares link will lead you to my blog post which had a very old unappealing photo of my beef pares, which does not do justice to how scrumptious this dish is, so please do not be discouraged. It has been a tried and tested and loved recipe by several of my readers, and a favorite special beef roast recipe in my household that even my in-laws love it). I chopped the meat roughly, mixed that with the sauce, adjusted the sauce with thickener (cornstarch-water mix), salt, sugar, pepper as necessary. Then I chilled the mixture prior to making the puto pao. The chilling enables me to shape the filling into disks which I could lay flat over half of the puto batter before I top with the other half.

I get the water boiling even before I start preparing the batter. I use any white cake mix in my pantry, with the required egg whites and oil, then mix thoroughly with a hand mixer until batter looks fluffy. I place about a teaspoon at the bottom of the muffin paper liner, then carefully top with flattened filling (I measure using cooking scoop), then finally add another teaspoon or so of white cake mix batter, or enough to cover sides and top of the filling (I avoid adding too much). The slide show has some photos with sliced cheese on top, or plain, or some puto pao with the filling on top only (I experimented to place the filling on top, expecting it to sink to the middle while steaming, but it did not).

The result got my kids excited, they had these for snacks that night, and saved some for the next morning for their breakfast.

As expected, hubby only ate the plain puto. :(

Torta Mamon Cebuano

The photo above and the recipe below are courtesy of my online/fb friend Leslie Ruelan (I did have the same recipe shared to me long ago by another online friend/ED nurse Glenn A. through email he sent me, but he did not have photos, and I lost my photos of it when I made them. They are so good!).  Thanks for these generous people who were willing to pass on recipes handed to them through generations. I never really heard of torta cebuana until I met friends online. Just a reminder for those who do not know what to do with the egg whites, turn them into lengua de gato or sans rival (both recipes available in this kusina).

Ingredients:

1 c sugar
10 egg yolks
1/2 c water
1 1/2 tbsp. baking powder
3 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. anise powder
1/2 c butter, melted
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 can 300 ml. condensed milk

Procedure:
1.) boil sugar and water for 5 mins. to make a syrup. Set aside to cool.
2.) combine flour and anise powder in a bowl.
3.) pour in melted butter, prepared syrup, oil, condensed milk and egg yolks
4.) stir using mixer until smooth
5.) sift in baking powder
6.) pour into wax paper-lined torta molds and
7.) bake at 350F for 22 mins. or until inserted toothpick comes out clean
8.) brush the top with margarine and sprinkle with refined sugar; enjoy with prepared syrup.

Goodie Bars/Gooey Butter Bars

Goodie Bars/Gooey Butter Bars

Last time I worked, one of the CNA's came at 2PM and brought a tin can of cookies and bars. I had a taste of some of them, but this one really made me ask for a recipe. She did not have the recipe on hand, and just described the ingredients somehow, but promised me that she would write it down sometime and leave a copy in my mailbox.

You see, there was a time I was in a baking frenzy making "bars" using the recipes on Nestle and Hershey's chocolate websites, but after tasting several of them, I was sick all too soon with the sweetness, and I had a tough time cutting through the bars that they did not look at all like the ones in the photos (must be something I did wrong, but the results discouraged me from making them again). I cut them bite-size (because I could not tolerate a big chunk) but they lasted a whole month with nobody in the household taking a second serving. I chucked the whole batch then...hard and dry already. What a waste.

On the contrary, that goodie bar was something that I had to restrain myself from getting some more, so as to leave enough for the other co-workers. It was that good.

Well, as soon as I got home, despite the start of a migraine attack, I dreadfully faced the glare of my laptop to look for a recipe with the few ingredients I remembered my co-worker told me it had. This one came close. So last night I baked it (without the almond toffee bits because I mistakenly got a package of milk chocolate toffee bits instead and opted to just leave that out). The result???

It was the right recipe although it seemed sweeter.

After baking it for 45 minutes (because I was afraid the 50 mins recommended might dry up the whole thing), I let it stand overnight, with the pan resting on a cooling wire rack, the top protected by a sheet of paper towel. It was still super moist by the time I cut it (completely cold then) and I made a mental note to bake it for the full 50 minutes next time). I had a hard time cutting through because it was sticky, but nevertheless, it was so good, crunchy at the bottom and gooey at the top. After cutting them into bite-size pieces, I let them stand with enough space in between to further dry up the pieces.

The kids loved these. They munched quite a lot when they came home from school. They said, "This is really good!"

I let hubby taste it and he liked it alright. He said his mom made something like it when he was a child, but it was called Congo squares and with chocolate bits. However, he told me not to bother with those, because as long as I make the cookies that I made today with a cookie press, he'd be happy (I will post about it next).

Goodie Bars recipe by Mike and Alicia Orth of Creative Pixels

Cake:
1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 large egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar (you may want to try to mix in 12 oz first and taste the dough if you don't want it too sweet; optional to save some for sprinkling on top)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup almond toffee bits (optional)



1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.

2. With an electric mixer stir together the butter, cake mix and 1 egg. Spread into the greased pan and pat down. (I used a hand mixer.)

3. Still using an electric (hand) mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce the speed and slowly pour in the butter. Mix well. Fold in the toffee bits (I did not).

4. Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. (Optional to sprinkle some confectioner's sugar on top). Bake for 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!

Blue Ridge Mountain Chocolate Chip Cookies

Blue Ridge Mountain Chocolate Chip Cookies

A confession I have to make: I had always been afraid to bake chocolate chip cookies...until I tried this recipe.

Now why was I afraid? Well, I had always used the Nestle Toll House Cookie recipe at the label of the chocolate chips, and my stand mixer, then my cookies would always be flat. If I use the Choc-Oat Chip cookie recipe, they might not be that flat...but they are still too flat for me.

This is the first time I tried a recipe off recipezaar for a cookie. And this is the first chocolate chip cookie recipe that removed my anxiety over baking cookies.

I also realized that I should stick to creaming the butter within 30 minutes of being in room temp, and to only use hand mixer instead of the stand mixer.

Then maybe I will try again Nestle Toll House recipe...we will see if those were indeed the factors that make my cookies flat.

In the meantime, my kids are happy with these, and I am gonna have them in my recipe collection here in my kusina.


Blue Ridge Mountains Chocolate Chip Cookies


30 min | 10 min prep

2 -3 dozen

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups bleached all purpose flour (see note below)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Note: The recipe initially calls for 2 1/2 cups flour, but with the added note if you want them more softer and rounder cookie to add 1/4 cup flour. I add the 1/4 cup making it 2 3/4 cups total.

Cream shortening, butter, sugars, then eggs and vanilla and almond extracts.

Blend dry ingredients and add to mixture.

Stir in Chocolate chips.

Drop by large tablespoons (I use cookie scoop) onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving 2-inches room in between to allow cookies to spread.

Bake at 375° for 10 minutes until lightly brown.

Makes 2-3 dozen cookies depending on size.

Lengua De Gato (Cat's Tongue)

Lenguas de Gato

Who does not love lenguas de gato??? I have yet to meet one who doesn't.

I am not sure how and why I started looking for a recipe of this, but I ended up seeing a starting point with rushlynn's post here. I guess it was an attempt to use the 2 egg whites I had in the fridge, which was about 1/4 cup.

This post is a result of my third attempt at baking these delightful lenguas de gato.

The first time I tried to bake using the above link's recipe, I burned the first batch after baking for a full 10 minutes without watching carefully. I piped the dough thin and flat. The next unburned batches tasted very good, but I felt it was too tough for me. I thought maybe the flour was too much (the fluffiness of butter-sugar-eggwhites gone after beating in the flour). In any case, my kids liked it so much.

I attempted a second time, after gathering and printing out a lot of different recipes online, and experimenting with amounts, and piping them round instead of flat. It was a disaster.

So in the third attempt, I went back to the original recipe I saw, decreased the flour amount, and doubled everything, sifted the flour before adding gradually to the mixture, and beating slowly just until blended. The reason why I wanted double batch was so I would have enough to play with in case I bork up the first few batches again. I also modified the flavors, including lemon because a hint of lemon always results to more interesting flavors, and almond extract just because I love almond flavor. I went back to piping flat, bought a whole set of piping tips to get the biggest flat tip I could find, and disposable piping bags that were big enough and sturdy to remain intact as I squeeze. You will just have to excuse the odd shapes I created, as I never had artistic and steady hands.

I loved the result, and so did my husband and kids.

Hubby: (after I handed to him a handful, "Want some?") "Oh! Cat's tongue! I love that!"
(He remembered the name after I gave him some of the first batch I made!)
Later on he said to me, while still munching on them, "You know what makes them so good? They taste like the butter cookies, if you will be able to make them round with sprinkle of crystal sugars...hmmmm!"

Now that's an idea, but I don't know if they will have the crispiness if they are that thick. Maybe I should use cake flour instead, or add baking powder to puff them up...and use a cookie press. Made a mental note for such future experiments.

Kids: "Those are so good they are addicting!"

Here's my final recipe, and please feel welcome to experiment using cake flour.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (soften at room temp for 30 mins)- I used salted butter
1-1/3 cup sugar
4 egg whites (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
few drops lemon extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (measure then sift)

Equipment/Tools:
piping tip (cake decorating) #47
piping bag
parchment paper (I measured out 4)
non-insulated aluminum baking sheet (I used two)
hand mixer
cooling wire racks

Instructions:

After getting the butter out of the fridge, time for 30 minutes and start measuring the other ingredients.

Cream the butter and sugar well.

Add the egg whites gradually, beating well.

Mix in salt, vanilla, almond extract, and lemon extract.

Add half of the flour, beat some, add the rest of the flour, and beat just until blended.

Assemble the piping bag and tip. Place some of the dough in the bag, and keep the rest chilled in the fridge.

Pre-heat the oven to 375ºF while you pipe out dough about 3 inches long, flat, and about 1/8 inch high, just a little bit wider than the piping tip, onto parchment paper.
Note: I have now been using a cardboard where I made a pattern of just straight lines that I can use as guides in piping out the dough.

(If parchment paper tends to slide off the baking pan, stick it to the pan using a thin smear of Crisco shortening at the four corners of the pan).

Space them apart about 1-1/2 inch to allow for expansion while it melts some more during baking.

Bake for about 5 minutes, rotate the pan, then bake some more for about 2-3 minutes, depending on how thick your dough is.

Transfer the parchment paper onto cooling racks, and remove the parchment paper after about 2 minutes to cool completely before transferring to a box or cookie jar.

The equipment	The piping tip	Dough in piping bag
Piped out dough	The whole tray	After baking
Cooling on wire rack	In the cookie jar	As Christmas giveaways

NOTES:
(1) Baking time may be shorter or longer, depending on whether your oven actually is hotter or cooler than mine, and maybe you piped out not quite exactly right. For the first batch, wait until you get the result, cool some, and have a bite. Correct the thickness and the width of the dough and baking time accordingly on the next batch, and watch carefully until you have learned the right combination of these factors. Once you got it right, proceed with better rhythm of piping the dough onto parchment paper while the other batch is baking.

(2) You can re-use the parchment paper after removing the baked lenguas. That is why 4 of them pre-cut are enough.

(3) While one pan is inside the oven, and the other pan already has dough piped on, you can place the other parchment paper on the table or countertop and pipe out some more. Once you have a hot pan out and you have removed the parchment paper and cookies, let it cool down some (at the same time you are piping dough onto PP on the table), then spray with cold water and wipe dry when you are ready to place a the next batch into the oven. (magulo ba?) What I am trying to say is, since I only had two aluminum pans, one is still warm by the time I am ready to take out the other, so to be able to place the next batch right away, my PP is ready with the dough on the table, and I just have to cool down the pan using cold tap water. With this setup, I had two PP ready on the table, just waiting for the cookies to bake while cooling down the other pan.

(4) If I try to make the piped dough higher (thicker) or so much wider, the middle part tends to get chewy instead of crispy, which I do not like.

(5) If I bake and do NOT wait for the sides to get golden brown (so that they appear light brown all over), I end up with chewy cookies even if they are flat. I don't like that.

(6) This recipe will be enough to fill half of a typical cookie jar (hard to keep track of the number, as it will vary depending on how much you pipe out per piece, and you will tend to munch some of those done while you bake the rest. It is that addicting!)

This is a good Christmas giveaway if you manage to find tin boxes liked the ones in the photo above:

UPDATE 1/7/10:
This is a feedback by Chef Vanessa (an fb friend):
"I made the recipe you shared for Leguas De Gato and my kids absolutley loved it and it didn't even hit 48 hours in the jar hahahhaa..The first recipe I made was from a site but it did not turned out right..It was too leathery and tasted like flour.Thanks for sharing that recipe!!!"

Thanks for your feedback, Chef!

Cocoa Crinkle Cookies

 

I did not make this. My MIL did. She makes this about once a year and gives us a big bag of them freshly made. So, even though I have the recipe, I thought I'd let myself look forward to having this at least once a year from her, just as I like looking forward to having paris brest made by my SIL every Christmas or Thanksgiving, whenever it was her turn to host a major holiday. Moreover, I am still trying to learn how to bake full-bodied cookies (instead of flat ones) using the Tollhouse recipe.

Everyone in our family loves them, including my husband who always look forward to getting treats from his mom (and he loves traditions, so this is one traditional food for him).

Recipe is from Hershey's Classic Recipes book; also in their website.

For more photos of actual making of these delights, please refer to the chef's wife's post here.

Cocoa Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Combine granulated sugar and oil in large bowl; add cocoa, beating until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to cocoa mixture, beating well.

2. Cover; refrigerate until dough is firm enough to handle, at least 6 hours.

3. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheet. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in powdered sugar to coat. Place about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet.

4. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched lightly and tops are crackled. Cool slightly. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

Ube & Yema Ensaymada (aka Pan de Pastel), and Chocolate Ensaymada

Bobong gave me the idea to try using yema as filling for the supersoft ensaymada. So I made a whole batch of ensaymada into ube ensaymada and yema ensaymada. Bobong said the yema-filled ensaymada is called pan de pastel in Camiguin and looks like pan de coco. I just don't know if it is also topped with butter, sugar and cheese, but I did it anyway.

I have no recipe really to share for these. Just use the supersoft ensaymada dough, have yema and ube fillings ready, and see the slideshow below. Work with everything cold already so handling the dough and fillings will be easier. The results of yema-filled ensaymada was so good, thanks to Bobong! Ube, needless to say, is as good as ever for ensaymada.

I had extra dough to make 6 pieces, which I filled with chocolate chips, both milk choco and white choco. I shaped the dough as if they were hopiang baboy. Without toppings, I let my husband have a taste of it (I baked them in my Nu Wave and turned out perfect). Husband liked them so much! My sons did too!

Ingredients:
supersoft ensaymada dough
yema
ube haleya
chocolate chips (milk and white)
topping (butter and sugar to taste, creamed; grated cheese)

Instructions:

Prepare the dough day before. Prepare yema and ube day/s before. Work when these are completely cold.
Grease pan.
Place dough on surface generously sprinkled with flour.
Cut dough into pieces about 2 ounces each (up to you, really). Flatten with the heel of your palm.
Place filling at the center. Gather the edges and seal.
Place on greased pan seam side down. Flatten a bit (or you can leave them rounded like balls). (If you are going to bake right away, you may opt to use muffin pans or brioche molds.)
Optional: Freeze covered with cling wrap for 3 hours at least, then transfer to bags (this is for those who want a good stock of these but want them freshly baked, a little at a time, like I want them.)
Let rise in warm, draft-free environment until double in size.
Bake in 350 deg F oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown (please use aluminum pan to avoid overbrowning of bottom). [I baked mine (few pieces at a time) in Nu Wave for 10 minutes without the need to preheat.]
Let cool completely and place in plastic bags if you are not going to eat right away.
Otherwise, cream butter and sugar. Apply to ensaymadas. Top with grated cheese (not necessary for chocolate, but it is up to you if you want to play with flavors).

UPDATE 6-15-09: You may want to use the dulce de leche as filling to make the pan de pastel. If you review Bobong's pan de pastel photos in the photo gallery, it is pretty much like pan de coco with dulce de leche filling. As shown on the photo on the right, I put the dulce de leche in a ziploc and piped out about a tbsp onto a dough piece, then proceeded to wrap it like how I wrap pan de coco. You may then enjoy plainly or with topping.

Yema Balls

Yema Balls and Ube Balls

Photo above shows (jaundiced) yema balls and ube balls. I experimented for the purpose of using them as filling for ensaymada, per Bobong's suggestion.

I looked for recipes for yema, but many have mashed potatoes...don't know why, but my instincts told me there should be none. I then checked out a youtube vid. . No recipe there, but I had something in mind, and I think the cook and I felt the same way about yema not having potatoes. So I made up my own. However, since this was experimental, I thought I'd try to shortcut the cooking process by using microwave. And when the resulting yema was somewhat chewy, I thought of adding granulated sugar and reheating some more to make it easier to bite into once cold (gritty, though). Then instead of coating the yema balls with caramelized sugar, I did not bother because it would be a filling anyway. (The first batch I experimented on I rolled in granulated sugar, but that batch was too dry because I was waiting for the yema to turn brown. Big mistake.)

The process is simple enough, but not practical for big batches.

I did some more experiment because I wanted to come up with yema as I remembered them: brown and soft, not chewy. Those were the yema that I remember being wrapped in cellophane as small pyramids. I think I came close to it in my succeeding experiments, but that will be for another post in the near future.

Ingredients:
1 can condensed milk
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar

Instructions:


Pour the content of 1 can condensed milk into a big microwaveable bowl (if you use a small one, it might boil over and spill). Put on your gloves as this can get hot. Microwave for 1-2 minutes on high while keeping watch (microwave ovens vary, you know). If you see it starting to boil and rise, stop and stir.

Once it has started to boil, microwave in increments of 10 seconds and stir. There will be a point in time that it can't rise anymore, kinda just deflates, but repeatedly do the microwave-stir cycles until the consistency is thick but still very runny(this is a jaundiced dulce de leche at this point). Do not wait for this to get brown, because then it will be too dry and will be hard when it gets cold (that happened to my first attempt)

Take out the bowl. Get the eggs and separate the whites. (Use the whites for something like meringue, macaroons, or sans rival, or plainly fry them or add to soups). Add the yolks to the dulce and microwave again until it creates bubbles again (this way you know the egg was cooked). Stir and repeat until it becomes almost like paste. Add the sugar and stir, microwave for 10 seconds and stir and repeat. Check once cool enough to handle if it is tacky but does not stick to your skin.

Cool completely and shape into balls.

Special Mamon (mala-Goldilocks)

Special Mamon

Well, at least"Special Mamon na mala-Goldilocks" was my first thought when I tasted this milk sponge cake the first time I made one for the base cake of crema de fruta. And I was not the only one who had the same opinion. The latest comment I received for crema de fruta was from Joy Leaming, who said the cake itself tasted like mamon from Goldilocks.

Basic Muffin Recipe

I have always been intrigued by the muffins I see in stores -- the ones with high domes/peaks....I have always wondered how that is achieved, whether that depends on the recipe or the oven temperature or the placement of pan in the oven. Well, I started the quest for the answer by using a basic muffin recipe. I finally learned the secret to making nice domes of muffins: preheating the oven to high heat, which creates an effect akin to "golpe de gulat" as we would refer to it in the Philippines. As soon as the muffin pan is placed inside the oven, the temp is dropped down to the right temp (which will not burn the muffins's exterior and leave the center underbaked). Next thing I will experiment on is whether I could do the same trick with my favorite blueberry muffin recipe.

I did use the King Arthur recipe just to experience for myself whether the trick they taught there was for real, which it was. But Wena also has an almost the same recipe, only with more oil, which also helps with prolonging shelf life and accounts for the tenderness, although we probably can experiment adding mashed sweet potato or regular potato, or some sweet sticky rice flour or tapioca flour to see how these affect the tenderness. I knew at some point in my childhood life, my Tatay experimented with adding grated kamoteng-kahoy (cassava) that he harvested from our backyard, into his basic muffin recipe which he used for his version of cheese cupcakes (which was basically muffins with grated cheese on top), and I liked the outcome better than the original; more moist and tender.

The beauty of having a basic recipe is the many variations you can try, as suggested by KAF. I found the plain one not sweet enough, and was thinking of maybe experimenting with adding colored sugar crystals on top at the last minutes of baking, aside from using chocolate chips, or sweet fruits, nuts.

For purposes of keeping the recipe easy to find here, I am copying and pasting here the recipe from KAF.
Ingredients:
2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil or softened butter (optional)*
2 large eggs

*If you leave the oil out, you can reduce the calories in your muffins by about 30%; the flavor will still be excellent, but muffins won't be quite as tender, and won't keep as well should you happen to have any left over.

(I added blueberries in half of my batter; I just sprinkled them with some flour to help them be uniformly distributed.)
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 500°F.

Blend together the dry ingredients as long and as vigorously as you want. If you use a little whole wheat flour in your mixture, it's easy to tell when everything is thoroughly mixed.

Beat the liquid ingredients together -- milk, oil or butter, and eggs -- until they are light. If you have a 2-cup liquid measure (one with a lip above the 2-cup mark) it makes mixing the liquid ingredients very easy. Most eggbeaters will fit right in the cup, so you can use it both as a measure, and as a small mixing bowl.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Take a fork or wire whisk and blend the two for 20 seconds -- no more! The secret to light and tender muffins lies in this final blending. It's OK if you've left some lumps that look as if they want more stirring; they really don't. So, no matter how hard it is, resist the impulse.

Fill cups of a lightly greased muffin tin two-thirds to three-quarters full. Place muffins in the oven and immediately drop temperature to 400°F*. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until muffins test done. Yield: 12 muffins, 24 mini-muffins, or six "crown" muffins.

*When you put muffins in a very hot oven and immediately drop the temperature, you help create the high peaks that make them so appealing.

Nutrition information per serving (1 muffin, 63 g): 161 cal, 6 g fat, 4 g protein, 16 g complex carbohydrates, 8 g sugar, 1 g fiber, 47 mg cholesterol, 217 mg sodium, 66 mg potassium, 1 mg iron, 124 mg calcium, 72 mg phosphorus.
More tips can be found at KAF's basic muffin recipe page.