Food for the gods, a better recipe
The first time I baked food for the gods, I used a recipe printed on a Maya Hotcake Mix box. The second time resulted in baking accident and the food for the gods became the accidental fruit cake. The third attempt illustrates the saying that “Two’s company; three’s a crowd.” My third attempt just bumped off the two previous attempts. I baked a large batch of food for the gods last Saturday and served the cookies to dinner guests as dessert.
The best food for the gods I have baked so far — moist and chewy at the center but dry on top. That means they can be individually wrapped and placed in a box or a pouch and given away as a very personal and special Christmas gift.
By what kind of miracle was I able to bake these gorgeous squares? Believe it or not — by NOT following a recipe. I used a tried-and-tested recipe for butterscotch brownies (from my sister-in-law) but I did not melt the butter in a sauce pan. I simply allowed to it soften at room temperature before I added the rest of the ingredients.
How to bake food for the gods
Yield: 48 to 60 squares.
200 g. of dried sultanas pitted dates1
200 g. of walnuts2
1-1/4 c. of butter, softened to room temperature
5 c. of lightly (not loosely) packed dark brown sugar
3-3/4 c. + 1 tbsp. of all-purpose flour
5 tsps. of baking powder
2-1/2 tsps. of salt
5 eggs
2-1/2 tsps. of vanilla essence
Preheat the oven to 350oF.
Place the sultanas on a chopping board and sprinkle with one tablespoonful of flour.3 Chop coarsely. “Coarsely” is subjective as it is a matter of preference how small you want the pieces of sultanas to be in the baked product. I like mine pretty small but you can always chop them into larger pieces. Transfer the chopped sultanas to a bowl and set aside.
Chop the walnuts to roughly the same size as the chopped sultanas. Add to the sultanas in the bowl.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla essence. Add the flour in batches, mixing with a wooden spoon. The batter will be very heavy. Finally, stir in the sultanas and walnuts.
Cover the bottom and sides of a 12-1/2 x 17-1/2 x 1 jelly roll pan with non-stick baking paper. Allowing overhangs on the long sides is useful so that you slide off the baked food for the gods on a cooling rack in one piece.
Pour the batter into the pan scraping the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure you get all of the batter into the pan. Level off with a spatula. Bake in a preheated 350oF oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Watch the last few minutes closely so that just as soon as it’s sufficiently baked, you can turn off the oven at once and take out the pan.
Then, cool in the pan for 10 minutes to firm it up a bit. Holding one end of the baking paper overhang with one hand and holding the pan at a 45o angle with the other, pull out the baked food for the gods and slide onto a cooling rack. Cool for another 15 minutes or so. While still a bit warm, cut into 1-1/2 or 2-inch squares. Cool completely. Place on festive colored paper cups or wrap in colored Japanese paper.
Notes:
1 and 2Dried sultanas Pitted dates and walnuts are sold by gram in Shopwise supermarket. Cheaper than buying the branded and pre-packed variety.
3The flour prevents the sticly sultanas from sticking together, and to the knife, during chopping.
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hi ms. connie,
i’ve been making food for the gods for 3 yrs using ms. dorothy ferreria’s recipe published in food magazine a few years back. my family and friends love it. it’s moist, chewy and sweet, but not cloyingly. i’ll give your recipe a try next week, in time for my younger cousins party.
Hi Connie,
I’m a baking newbie and will definitely try your recipe some time.
Hope you like it, Misao.
Iska, a year ago I was a baking newbie but with guts pala, baking isn’t so intimidating.
My mom always made huge batches of this. So good and always disappears quick from the table. Thanks for the recipe!
hi connie! could i use dates or raisins instead of sultanas?
thanks!
I actually used pitted dates. I corrected the entry already. I used raisins before — prunes would be better. Raisins aren’t chewy enough.
hi connie! thanks for that! finally saw that i have been keeping prunes in my cupboard hehehe!
will try this soon!
hi,connie…i remember baking the food for the gods
following your recipe last year and sharing some with my co-workers…then i entered it at our annual christmas cookies contest at the hospital where i work…i didn’t win ‘coz i overbaked it..it was dry…my friends declared me a winner ‘coz of my guts and spirit in joining the contest…
i will definetely try this new recipe this week-end
thanks again!!!….maybe entering the contest again?
Oh, you go, Emy! And I hope you win this time. Good luck!
hi connie!!.i got my recipe for food for d gods at oookierecipe.com a few years back and have been using that recipe since.but instead of using vanilla essence,i would use rhum extract or imitation rhum extract by McCormick and d finished product turned out really well.unfortunately,can’t find rhum extract anymore at all SM baking item shelves.oh,about d dates,i buy them from SM, Php30/100gms.at their preserved fruits/candies stall just in front of
d supermarket,in case your readers want to know.
will try this recipe version of yours next week.
thanks again,connie….happy holidays!!!
Hi again, Connie! Happy Holidays! Will definitely try this one… I’ve been absent from this forum kasi marami pa ring baking na inaasikaso— in fact hanggang January 6 and 7, 2009 na nga yung iba eh
That is why probably next year ko na ma-tra-try ito…
And to Beth— P30/100 for dates is expensive. The one I have on hand costs P160/kg… and I got it from Chocolate Lover at P Tuazon, QC.
Thanks again and to everyone, a very merry Christmas!
hehe— sorry… that should have read ” P30/ 100 grams”
Thanks-
hi crisma!!
wow,that’s really a lot cheaper than d dates at d mall. SM Fairview is a lot nearer kasi to me than chocolate lover since i reside here in novaliches,qc.and i make d goodies once in a while lang kaya i buy it there.
but thanks for d tip,crisma!!!i’ll keep that in mind if ever i’ll be in that area.d chocolate lover branch at espana closed already.i used to send my eldest daughter there to buy baking ingredients for me coz she studies at UST and it’s on her way home after classes.
thanks again.crisma!!!!
Thanks Connie sa recipe,I tried to make 2 days ago and brought it to work as a christmas goodies to share with my co-workers ,you gave me an idea what to give this christmas ,first time to make it and it was a success.Merry Christmas & a Happy New year!
Hi, Beth!
I am just glad to have shared something I know–
Happy new year!
Connie…ayan na naman, you are really bringing people together. Parang when Nina and I got to know each other through your blog!
We wish that you’ll have more happy sharings of your cooking and baking adventures and discoveries in 2009!
Crisma, I’m also planning on going to Chocolate Lover. HAven’t been there in ages. Kaso, nagkasakit naman ako kaya nga walang new entries dito.
Hi Ms Connie,
I’ve tried this recipe yesterday. Nasobrahan ko ung baking powder instead of tsp naging tbsp ung nagamit ko. Medyo naduling ata ako sa pagbabasa. Tsk tsk. It turned out medyo matigas ung side nya pero chewy. Wala akong oven, ginamit ko lang ung electric skillet tapos 180degC medyo mas matagal nga lang ung pagluluto.
Panu ko po malalaman kapag ok na ung pag mix ko? I’ll try it again next month =)
Suzette, the sides are always crusty but they shouldn’t be matigas. Try to reduce the baking time by five minutes or so.
Hi, again Connie! Happy new year! Sorry ngayon lang ulit ako naging free to visit your blog… sobrang busy nitong holidays na ito kasi..
Aaahh, sana when you do visit Chocolate Lover we can see each other there!
Excellent!!! My grown kids love them. Next time I’ll reduce the recipe in half, ‘coz I know I’ll be saying, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing”.
hi connie! when you say stir and mix – do you use a hand mixer or those jelly-colored kitchen aid mixers? i’ve been bugging my hubby to get me one but they’re all saying it’s just hype so ok lang ba ung mga hand mixers?
Olive, I normally use a wire whisk but I use a HAND MIXER 1) for beating eggwhites and 2) large amounts of batter. I MANUALLY mixed the Food for the Gods batter. An electric mixer is convenient but not totally essential.
hi connie, i followed your recipe and it was a hit among our friends and relatives. thanks for sharing!
Good to know, Leah.
hello ms connie! i’ve been trying different food for the gods’ recipes pero hindi ko po ma-perfect. natikman ko po yung food for the gods ng St. Clement’s Kitchen & Mary Grace, pareho po silang may taste of milk & coconut. yung ibang recipes po ng food for the gods meron molasses & na try ko na din po yung ganun recipe which turned out a bit bitter. please help. thanks.
Vanessa, there is no perfect recipe — there’s only the personal preference of every eater.
connie, have you tried adding a honey in the recipe?? it became moist and chewy…. becoz when i make this i put honey…
hello again..can i use prunes instead? kasi parang hindi po lumalasa yung dates ko..or meron po bang pwedeng idagdag para mangibabaw yung lasa ng dates? thx.
Hindi naman dapat mangibabaw yung lasa ng dates. Everything should just blend together.
what do you mean by dark brown sugar, is it the muscovado? pls reply…
Airen, I have. You seem to be confused about the threaded commenting too.
I would like to know, what’s the difference between light brown sugar and dark brown sugar? is the dark brown sugar the one with almost a powdery texture? and whats with the packing? lightly and firmly packed?
Light brown sugar is “washed” sugar. The one with powdery texture is muscovado.
Firmly packed for sweeter results; loosely packed for less sweet results.
what did you used for your food for the gods the reg brown sugar or the muscovado? i really like to try it, but i’m still confuse about the brown sugar.
Regular dark brown sugar. If I use muscovado in a recipe, I specify it.
Thanks so much for the info. your food for the gods looks really delicious! i can’t wait to try it…
do you have a posted recipe for puto cheese?
Hi Connie!
Thanks for creating your blog, it’s something that I visit regularly when I’m thinking of cooking something new for my family. It’s very helpful kasi your ingredients are stuff that I can easily find
Anyway, I’d just like to ask…what if I don’t have the same pan size as what you specified? Say, I have an 8×8 square pan. Do I need to change my baking settings?
Thanks in advance!
You might have to.
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