Food For The Gods Cookie, is inspired by the Filipino bar - with the addition of chocolate. It does take it to a whole other level.
First of All How Did Food For The Gods Get To The Philippines?
Well there are two theories. The first one is that it came from the Spanish pan de dátiles, or date bread. It's plausible as the Spanish were bringing food all over the place through the Manila Galleon Trade.
The second theory, which is the one that I am more leaning towards is that it's from the Americans.
It tracks after I watched B. Dylan Hollis's video on the deep dive of Food Of The Gods. He found a recipe from a 1909 Michigan Cookbook. The recipe is more like a meringue that is served with whipped cream.
The timeline sticks as America colonized the Philippines in 1898. When the Americans were in the Philippines, they taught Home Economics classes based on what American Wives liked to cook. Which is how the Philippines got hooked on condensed milk and graham crackers!
So Is It From America?
I've been collecting vintage cookbooks from the Philippines and most of them are from American wives clubs.
In the Food Fair Cookbook from the Union Church in Manila, it's just called Date Nut Bread, but the recipe is very similar to the modern version.
Almost a decade later in the Savory Servings from Subic book it's called Fruit For The Gods, but cooked in a layered bar and served with whipped cream. Kinda similar to the Food For The Gods Michigan recipe from 1909, just without the eggs.
It's so interesting how recipes and even recipe titles can evolve especially during that time in the early 1909 as most are just recorded on a scrap piece of paper if you are lucky. The majority are passed down orally, and probably changed along the way to suit the taste of the current cook and what they have on hand.
The current version of the Filipino Food Of The Gods that is sold during Christmas is more like a blondie with added walnuts and dates. I'm thinking that the recipe was probably taken from an American Home Economics class and someone thought ooh this will be a good business and that is how it was born.
What is interesting though is that there is no particular region or Province in the Philippines super famous for it. Or if there is a business famous for it let me know and I will update! I just can't find one or know of one. Everyone just knows it's for sale and that the ingredients are so special and expensive it's only fit for a God to eat.
Food For The Gods Inspired Cookie
Now we come to my recipe that is inspired my Food For The Gods. There is no flour in the recipe. You are just going to be using walnuts and grinding them up as a base and adding in chunks of dates and chocolate.
It turns out that using ground walnuts makes for a super light cookie. Let's get to making it.
Ingredients
Walnuts - Use 2 cups of roasted unsalted whole walnuts. This will act as your "flour" and makes the cookies super light.
Rice Bran Flour - This gives it a nice depth of flavor and plenty of nutrients. I learned this from making Darak Cookies from WWII.
Date Sugar - Keeping with the theme of Food For The Gods, I suggest using date sugar. If you can't find it coconut sugar is a good sub.
Butter - Use either real butter or vegan. Doesn't matter.
Eggs - The eggs will act as the main binder.
Chopped Chocolate - I actually used a cup of hot chocolate bits made from real chocolate. You can just chop up some chocolate chips in a food processor. Just don't make it to fine. Go for a biggish chunky size.
Traditionally FFTG doesn't have any chocolate in it, but this is a cookie so it's a good addition and I love chocolate. You can leave it out if you wish.
Chopped Dates - You will need one cup of chopped dates.
How To Make Food For The Gods Cookies
It's best to make this with a food processor to be able to grind the walnuts into a fine crumb.
First you are going to make the "flour" by blitzing together the whole roasted walnuts, date sugar and rice bran flour.
It will just take a few seconds to get the fine crumb texture.
Next add in the butter, close the food processor and pulse a few times to coat everything with butter. It should look like wet sand.
Open the processor again and add in the two eggs and mix for a few seconds until you get a wet dough mixture.
Transfer the dough mixture into a bowl.
To that bowl add in the chopped dates and chocolate.
Using a spatula, mix everything together until combined. Leave to rest while you heat up your oven to 350F.
While the oven is heating up spray a mini muffin tin with baking spray and then scoop in one tablespoon of dough into each cup.
Once the oven is ready bake the cookies for 10 minutes.
Leave the cookies in the tin for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. Continue to bake the rest of the cookie batter. You will make about 40-48 cookies. It all depends on how big of a tablespoon you use.
To serve place them on a platter.
Top Tips
- Use a Food Processor to make the super fine walnut flour
- Make sure the butter you use is super soft, but not melted.
- As the cookies are nice and light, it's best to bake them small and in a muffin tin to help hold its shape.
- They are actually better to eat the next day and even better the day after.
How To Store Food For The Gods Cookies
These cookies can stay in a cookie jar on the counter top for up to 1 week. If you have many left over place them in a ziplock bag with the date it was baked and freeze the for up to 3 months.
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Ingredients
- 2 Cups Roasted Unsalted Whole Walnuts
- ¼ Cup Rice Bran Flour
- 1 Cup Date Sugar
- ½ Cup Soft Butter
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Cup Chopped Dark Chocolate
- 1 Cup Chopped Dates
Instructions
- Add 2 cups of walnuts, ¼ cup of rice bran flour and 1 cup of date sugar into a food processor. Blitz for a few seconds until you get super fine crumbs.
- Next add in the butter, close the food processor and pulse a few times to coat everything with butter. It should look like wet sand.
- Open the processor again and add in the two eggs and mix for a few seconds until you get a wet dough mixture.
- Transfer the dough mixture into a bowl then add in the chopped dates and chocolate. Using a spatula, mix everything together until combined. Leave to rest while you heat up your oven to 350F.
- While the oven is heating up spray a mini muffin tin with baking spray and then scoop in one tablespoon of dough into each cup.
- Once the oven is ready bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Leave the cookies in the tin for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. Continue to bake the rest of the cookie batter. You will make about 40-48 cookies. It all depends on how big of a tablespoon you use.
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