Happy Filipino American History Month everyone! It feels good to be back! I’ve been spending the last couple of months recharging and enjoying the last vestiges of summer. Now that it’s fall and the temperature has dropped significantly, I think it’s time to return to baking en masse. Since it’s FAHM, I’m excited to share a Filipino American fusion recipe that I’ve been sitting on for a while. Back in the beginning of May, I sold some desserts at Brooklyn Museum’s First Saturday Pop-Up Market. These kare kare cookies were a source of pride and joy that I made for the event.
For these cookies, I wanted to interpret one of my favorite Filipino dishes in a sweet and savory way. Kare kare is traditionally a peanut butter stew that is served with rice and bagoong, a fermented shrimp paste. Whenever I’d come home from college on winter break, my parents would eagerly ask me what I’d like for them to make. They knew I missed Filipino food since I wasn’t really cooking in my dorm or apartment in Berkeley. My dad makes the best kare kare, and that’s exactly what I requested. Kare kare is time consuming and not something you just throw together. It takes hours to tenderize oxtail and get the stew right, and it really was a labor of love to be made for a special occasion.
Looking back on my college years, I do appreciate my parents so much for always wanting to help me recharge and to feed me when school was stressful. When I was developing these cookies, I wanted to make something that was filled with just as much love and care that my parents gave me. There is something so comforting about making cookie dough, and it’s definitely a little easier than stirring a 6-hour stew. A peanut butter cookie base carries the key flavor of a sumptuous kare kare. I also wanted to incorporate annatto powder, which gives kare kare its orange-y color. Rolling the cookies in an annatto sugar imparts that color and earthy flavor onto these cookies.
Last but not least, you can’t have kare kare without bagoong! For kare kare, I use ginisang bagoong, which is already sauteed and ready to use as a condiment. You dollop kare kare on top of a perfect bite of the rice, sauce, meat and vegetables. I think caramel makes savory and salty flavors shine, while also lending lots of depth to a dessert (see for yourself with my pork floss & white miso caramel brownie recipe here!). Adding kare kare in caramel squares really completes this recipe. When the caramel gets slightly melted into the center, each bite offers a bit of shrimpy goodness to complement the nutty cookie.
I hope you have fun making these kare kare cookies! They could be a treat for Halloween or just to bake for your loved ones while you celebrate FAHM. There’s so much Filipino American history to unpack during the month of October and beyond, that it’s nice that we all are finding ways to connect with our roots and be with our community. Even the act of baking with flavors I grew up with makes me feel closer to home.
Kare Kare Cookies
Ingredients
For the Peanut Butter Cookies:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg, oom temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Annatto-Sugar Coating:
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons annatto powder
For the Bagoong Caramels:
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/8 cup corn syrup
- 1/8 cup water
- 1 tablespoon bagoong I like using spicy sauteed bagoong!
Instructions
For the Peanut Butter Cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats.
- Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the peanut butter, butter and both sugars for about 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla.
- Add in the flour mixture on low speed and stir until the dough forms.
- Using a cookie scoop (about 1 heaping tablespoon of dough), roll balls of dough in annatto-sugar and drop onto prepared cookie sheet. Flatten slightly and leave space for spreading.
- Bake for 8 minutes, take out of the oven and top with a bagoong caramel. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until edges are slightly browned and the caramel is slightly melted, and remove from oven.
- Let cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheets before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
For the Annatto-Sugar Coating:
- In a bowl, combine white sugar and annatto powder. Set aside.
For the Bagoong Caramels:
- Spray a mini silicone square mold with nonstick spray. I used this mold that has 126 cavities, which hold 2 ml each worth of caramel.
- In a large sauce pan, heat the sugar, corn syrup, and water over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until all of the sugar is melted, about 5-6 minutes.
- Clip a candy thermometer to the pan, and continue heating without stirring, until the mixture reaches 340ºF and is a medium amber color.
- Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in the cream, butter and bagoong. Stir until the mixture is uniform.
- Return the pan to the stove and and cook (without stirring) over medium-high heat until the mixture reaches 240-245ºF.
- Remove the pan from the heat and the thermometer from the pan. Pour into the prepared silicone mold.
- Place the silicone mold in the fridge overnight covered with parchment paper.
- Store in the refrigerator for at least a month in the fridge.
