Crumbly goodness.

Back with yet another no bake goodie because I ain't in the mood to bake! Don't you just love it when you can whip up a nice simple dessert or snack in less than 30 minutes without turning on the oven AND your mixer?

Just like the Mango Float, I have quite nice childhood memories with polvoron. I remember watching my mom and my sister whipping up a batch of these powdery, buttery, sugary goodness and helping them when it's time to shape these goodies. Back when I was in 5th or 6th grade, I made a huge batch of polvoron with my classmates for a Home Economics project/activity which was a success, if I say so myself. Polvoron's just a nice sweet treat that's nice to have anytime of the day.

For those who are unfamiliar, the Filipino polvoron is a variation of the Spanish polvorón. The Spanish polvorón is a type of a crumbly shortbread, usually made with flour, sugar, milk, and almonds. Some polvorón are made with lard from the fat of Iberian pig which are then called mantecado. The Philippine version though is the same, although instead of lard, we usually use either butter or margarine, and nuts are optional and can be substituted with rice crispies, crushed up cookies, pinipig, and many more.

I'm keeping mine simple today as I've opted for a plain version of a polvoron, aka the OG bitch. Plain polvoron is my most fave one, the second being the pinipig polvoron. I like the true, unaltered taste of a plain polvoron as it makes me savor the creaminess, milkiness, sweetness, and buttery-ness in every bite. Plus, it's hard to screw up the flavor of this one!

The secret to a great plain polvoron, in my opinion, is the perfect toasting of the flour. I hate, HATE, it when a polvoron tastes like uncooked flour. Unfortunately, I've had polvorons that taste like uncooked flour (and sometimes just flour) and that's a big no-no for me. You want your flour toasted but not burnt. A good indicator of a good toast is when your stark white flour becomes flesh-toned. Think of a concealer or foundation shade that's in between a light and a medium shade. When you get to that color, you'll know you've reached the right kind of toastiness. Not too brown, not too pale. Just in the middle. It's work but it needs to be done.

Once you get your flour toasted, it's a breeze from there. All you have to do is add in your other ingredients, make sure they're well incorporated, shape them, and then you're pretty much done! It's best to let them set just so they're not too crumbly but that's pretty much it. Oh, and this is for a small batch. The number of polvoron pieces you'll be able to make will depend on the size of your molder. I used a big oval molder on this batch and got 15 pieces. A small one will probably yield about 20-25 pieces.

Enjoy!

POLVORON

Yield: around 15 pieces

1 1/2 c all purpose flour

1 cup powdered milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 c butter, softened

1. In a bowl, combine powdered milk and granulated sugar. Mix well and set aside.

2. In a skillet or frying pan, toast flour over low-medium heat. This will take a while but make sure to constantly stir the flour to avoid burning. This will take about 10-20 minutes.

3. Once your flour turns to a light brown, flesh skintone color, take it off the heat and immediately add in the powdered milk, sugar, and butter.

4. Keep mixing. Your "batter" will have a sand-like consistency (think streusel-like). Break up the clumps by pressing them and mixing them until you're left with a clump-free sand-like "batter".

5. Start forming the polvoron batter with your molder. I usually put the pieces first on a container and let them set in the freezer for about 3 hours (for setting in the fridge, 5-6 hours is better.) before serving.

(Note: I like my polvoron frozen but if you prefer a softer bite, one that'll explode when you bite it, thaw them first for about 5-10 minutes or until room temp.)