Follow Me Foodie to Polvoron Cookies!

Follow Me Foodie to Polvoron Cookies!

That has been me for the last few weeks, except replace the chocolate chip cookies with Polvorons.

If I can’t kick the addiction, I’m going to be selfish and drag you all down with me… unless you’re diabetic, in which case relish in the descriptions and pictures. Actually, I wouldn’t consider this being selfish because I’m about to introduce you to one of the Cookie God’s greatest gifts. If you already know about them, then you already get it.

The first step is to admit it. I am addicted to Polvoron cookies. These cookies are not anything new, but perhaps a cookie that not everyone is familiar with. It is originally a Spanish shortbread cookie that has been adapted by Latin American countries and the Philippines. It’s pretty much a Spanish influenced shortbread cookie made with toasted flour, milk, butter, and sugar that is cooked and moulded into a cookie.

I was first introduced to Polvoron a couple years ago. My friend brought me one from Goldilocks in Vancouver, which is a famous Filipino bakery (or as many Filipino’s would call a bakeshop) from the Philippines. If you’ve never been to a Filipino bakery, you’re in for a treat.

I fell in love at first bite. I literally took one bite and a couple chews of Pinipig Polvoron before I stopped and my eyeballs nearly fell out of their sockets. No, not because I almost choked, but because they were so amazingly delicious. Yes, it’s just a cookie, but it’s a very unique type of shortbread with an unexpected texture. I haven’t had one in a while, but this Christmas she brought them for me again and my love was rekindled.

Polvorons are one of the best shortbread cookies I’ve ever had to date. Another amazing shortbread cookie is the Gorgonzola & Pistachio shortbread cookies from Coach House Shortbread Company in Toronto, which I also discovered over the holidays.

Freshly baked Polvorons at Goldilocks ready for packaging.

You can find imported Polvoron at specialty Filipino stores and sometimes at T&T Supermarket. However the one and only place you should really get them are at Goldilocks. It’s the only place I know that’s making them in house and the Filipino community generally considers them as “the best polvoron”. They’re also relatively easy to make yourself and require few ingredients too. If you’ve never had one before I suggest trying a bought one first so you have an idea of what it should taste like.

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

**Polvoron – 6/6 FMF Must Try!

• Similar to the English Shortbread; a mixture of toasted flour, milk, butter, and sugar cooked and then molded; available in the Plain and flavored variety ( with Cashew, Pinipig-rice crispy, Ube, Chocolate honey almond, and Peanut); name is derived from “pulbos” in Tagalog to denote a powdery candy.
• $10.50 for Assorted package of 12 or $.90 each
• If you like these, you should also try the Japanese Okinawa Matcha Shortbread from Cake-Ya and the Chinese/Macau style Almond Cakes/Cookies which are made with mung bean flour and are more almond based than sugar based. Try the Koi Kei brand from T&T Supermarket.

**Plain Polvoron – 6/6 FMF Must Try!

• $10.50 for Assorted package of 12 or $.90 each
• You should start with the original.
• It’s like biting into the most delicious sandcastle.
• They’re a bit drier, richer and heavier than an English shortbread cookie, but not in a buttery way, although there’s still a good amount of melted butter.
• It’s a super creamy shortbread cookie and it’s not gritty, but quite soft, powdery and crumbly and it just melts in your mouth.
• It’s definitely more sugary and nutty (from the toasted flour) than buttery in flavour and it’s sweet, but not hurt your teeth sweet.
• It’s a much finer and drier crumb compared to an English shortbread cookie due to the dry milk powder used.
• It’s dusted with sugar and it looks sweeter than it is and there’s also a bit of vanilla extract for flavour.
• I wish they used all butter to make them, but Goldilocks does use shortening as well. I also wish they used pure vanilla extract, but they’re good enough for me to overlook and I take what I can get, and so far Goldilocks is all I can get.

**Pinipig Polvoron – This is my favourite kind and a must must try flavour. It’s the only flavour that has a crispy texture due to the little bits of rice crispies in it. It’s like the lovechild of a shortbread and a rice crispy square.

Ube (Taro) Polvoron – This is my second favourite. I’ve only recently tried it, but if you like taro bubble teas (powdered, not fresh), you’ll love this.

Peanut Polvoron – This one is almost like a peanut butter shortbread. There weren’t actually any noticeable peanuts in it, but perhaps a few peanut crumbs.

Cashew Polvoron – This one had some tiny cashew crumbs in it, but there were no actual whole cashews to bite into.

M&M Polvoron – This is new and it’s just the plain Polvoron with smashed up bits of M&M chocolate candies.

Chocolate Honey Almond Polvoron – It’s not really chocolatey, but more malted in flavour. There are also little crunchy bits of almonds in it and the nuts are more noticeable in size than they are in the cashew and peanut polvorons. It’s not particularly sweeter than the others and the honey isn’t that obvious, but it’s still good.

Follow Me Foodie Tasty Twists for Polvoron Cookies!

Crumble Polvorons and sprinkle it on top of yogurt or ice cream. 

Make Polvoron ice cream sandwiches.

Slice bananas, dip them in melted peanut butter and roll them in Polvoron cookie crumbs. Eat them as is or frozen.

Blend Polvoron up with milk and vanilla ice cream for Polvoron Milkshakes.

Spread some Nutella on a Polvoron cookie and sprinkle with fleur de sel. 

Other Goldilocks recommendations: Pandesiosa (Loaf of soft sweet bread topped with a sugar glaze), Ensaymada (Sweet brioche topped with melted butter and grated cheese and sugar after baking), Mamon (French Sponge Cake)

I decided to try the Aling Conching Polvorons just for comparisons sake.

Aling Conching Polvoron with Purple Yam & Rice Crispies – 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• Polvoron with Purple Yam & Rice Crispies 10 for $2.59
• I found these at 71 Food Store – 8710 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC which is a little hole in the wall convenience store with Filipino products.
• Aling Conching Polvoron are imported from the Philippines.
• They’re still an edible sweet delicious cookie, but just not as good quality as Goldilocks’ Polvorons overall.
• They’re smaller than Goldilocks’ Polvorons, and a bit sweeter and softer with a finer more powdery crumb.
• Although not as good, they are a lot more affordable and they do the job for a quick fix.

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