Food for the Gods

By Chef Ed Dychauco

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

IT IS the time once again for all experienced, neophyte and wannabe bakers to start stocking up ingredients and begin working on the kitchen for that “labor of love” home-baked goodness.

Aside from the seasonal fruitcakes, which really costs a lot, another goodie worth making, buying or giving would be this simple but sweet-tasting decadent bars made of “imported” dates and nuts in a very rich composition of fresh, delicate butter, eggs, brown sugar with a hint of vanilla.

And with that, this impeccable sweet treat would be undeniably one of the most baked, given as gift or bought during this Christmas season.

Well, aside of course from our very Pinoy leche flan, biko, Sans Rival, Sylavannas, Brazo de Mercedez, buko pie, cake rolls and many, many more.

And I am referring to one of the best dessert I really enjoy, food for the gods.

Who can deny that this is in fact, one of the most loved and most sellable bars of all time? I can remember this really became a fad in the 80’s and went through the 90’s. The transformation appeared in the way they were presented, packaged and sold.

Basic packaging would just be small colored paper cups then, it became a bit better since these little squares were wrapped in loud, shiny grease-proofed papers. They were placed in small hand-made white boxes until commercially colorful pre-made boxes became widely available.

And for those who can really, really afford, packaging became more elegant and high end. Each piece is now foil-packed and machine-sealed (just like commercially prepared sweets) and presented in a very chic-looking, expensive personalized box! Now, this is what we call “to the max!”

But one thing the giver or the receiver should always remember is that this is highly perishable. And keeping them refrigerated is a must. Not only is it important to have the expiration date, but keeping these chilled makes them more irresistible. This is true to almost all baked goodies as well.

This is quite sweet, so a piece or two is enough for one sitting. And enjoying it slowly, bite per bite, with a cup of black coffee or hot tea would be fantastic!

Here’s a recipe for you…

1 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 pcs. eggs
1 tbsp. molasses
1 tsp. vanilla
¾ cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 ¼ cup dates, chopped
1 ¼ cup walnuts, chopped

Mix all dry ingredients. Reserve some of the flour mixture and coat the dates and nuts. Cream butter and eggs together with the molasses, vanilla and sugars until blended. Fold in the flour, then the date and nuts. Pour into a prepared pan and baked at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or done, depending on the size of the pan.

Happy baking!

(Email: potsnpans1976@yahoo.com; website: www.potsnpans1976.weebly.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on December 08, 2011.