polvoron

I grew up snacking on these sweet and tasty treats. Polvoron used to be just a plain and simple combination of toasted flour, sugar and butter but these days, they come in so many interesting tropical flavors, with nuts and toasted rice added, new twists on packaging and have also been updated with a new version, white & dark chocolate covered polvoron. But no matter how they changed, it's still the basic polvoron that we know and love. Homemade polvoron is quick and easy to make with a few basic ingredients, all purpose flour, sugar, butter, powdered milk and vanilla flavoring. The flour is first toasted in a wok or skillet until light brown in color. Over low heat, the sugar is added next while stirring continuously. Then the powdered milk goes in followed by the vanilla and butter. Mix until the butter is melted. Take the pan off the heat and let cool. The mixture will be slightly moist from the butter and can be compressed in the polvoron mold.

This interesting gadget [shown above] is usually sold in Filipino and Asian grocery stores. It compresses the flour mixture into delicate shapes of either round or oval. I run out of colorful wrappers, so I just used waxed paper for this batch.

Shown above is a box of chocolate covered polvoron from Goldilocks, a leading restaurant and bakeshop chain in the Philippines which have now made it to some parts of California. Although the chocolate they used was the commercial kind with a not so intense chocolate flavor, it was a very creative idea I must say. I also read about a successful local business, Chocovron, selling and exporting these chocolate covered versions.

I also like these assorted colorful polvoron [shown above] which are sold at most Asian or Filipino groceries with the brand, Aling Conching's. The tropical and Asian flavors of pandan [fragrant screwpine leaf], ube [purple yam], and fruity flavors of melon and strawberry are intense in each polvoron I tasted. Colorful cellophane or Japanese paper wrappers give these polvoron treats a festive look. They make great gifts during the Christmas season when they are often wrapped in traditional holiday colors of red and green.