Recipe Remake: thumbprint cookies with Hawaiian ingredients

I'm currently collecting recipes that can be made with only island-grown ingredients. Grains pose a particular challenge, since they are the staple of so many people's diets but aren't grown here. Breadfruit (called 'ulu in Hawai'ian) is a potential grain-substitute in many recipes. In addition to being a plentiful, local food, it is healthier than grains, too!

In the following recipe, I've adapted one of my favorite cookies to use 'ulu instead of flour, macadamia nuts instead of pecans, and coconut instead of oatmeal. It uses no additional sugar or oil. I used cardamom instead of more traditional spices, because I love the way the delicate complexity of the spice interacts with the sweet 'ulu flavor. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and other cookie spices could be used instead or in addition.

The resulting recipe is easy, healthy (for a dessert), and can be sourced completely locally! Plus, these cookies are gluten free and vegan, and still: delicious! The proof? They won Best of Show in the Puna 'Ulu Festival recipe contest a few weekends ago. It was my first cooking contest entry - I was so delighted!

*award winning* Pūnana Cookies

for about 2 dozen cookies:

1&1/2 cups ripe 'ulu, steamed - use breadfruit that is sweet and mushy

1 cup finely chopped raw, unsalted macadamia nuts

1/2 cup shredded, dried, unsweetened coconut

Pinch sea salt

1 teaspoon cardamom

tart jelly/jam - liliko'i ginger jelly is especially ono

Macadamia nut oil for pan, optional

Preheat oven to 350°F. 
Mash steamed breadfruit using a crank processor, a potato masher or a brief pulse in a blender.  The resulting paste should be sticky and clumpy, like buttermilk frosting.
Put the macadamia nuts, coconut, salt and cardamom in a mixing bowl and fold in the breadfruit paste, much like mixing butter into a batter until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
Either wipe a cookie sheet with macadamia oil or use a non-stick cookie sheet.  Take about one tablespoons of breadfruit batter and roll into a ball.  Form the dough into a nest with an impression on top for the jelly.  Wet hands can help form the well-structured nest.  Fill the sheet with the nests about 1 to 2 inches from each other.  Then add about 1/2 a teaspoon of jelly to each nest.  Liliko’i jelly is ono because of its bright, tart flavor, but any firm jam or jelly will work.
Put the cookie sheet into the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned on the bottom and/or top.  Remove and cool on a rack.  Enjoy!

Now the pictorial tutorial:

Choose breadfruit that is soft (from ripeness not from bruising!) - it will usually be a golden color, but sometimes still green. A 2 lb breadfruit should be enough for a single batch. Steam for about an hour, then cut off skins and cut into chunks.

We use a simple hand-crank food processor.

Not much processing is needed for ripe breadfruit. It's consistency should be somewhere between mash potatoes and frosting. If the breadfruit does not stick together, try adding a little splash of water.

Processed ingredients (breadfruit, coconut, nuts, cardamom, salt) before mixing.

I've found that folding the breadfruit into the dry ingredients, much like you would fold butter into flour, works well. Mix with a spoon or spatula until ingredients are evenly distributed.

Use a nonstick cookie sheet or grease a regular sheet. I put a light coat of macadamia nut oil on my non-stick sheets. The oil isn't necessary, but increases browning. Take about a tablespoon of batter an shape a nest. Make sure the sides and bottom are solid, so the jelly can't leak during baking.

Add about 1/2 teaspoon of jelly to each nest. I use my homemade liliko'i-ginger jelly. I think any tart, bright flavored jelly or jam would be delicious.

In my oven set to 350 deg F, these cook for 25-30 minutes. I take them out when they start to brown. Then, they cool on a cookie rack.

Using the same batter and adding dark chocolate chips instead of jelly makes pretty darn good chocolate chip cookies. These are made with Scharffenberger chocolate chunks my mom sent. Thanks, Mom!

Liliko'i Ginger Preserves

After three months of liliko'i falling from the sky (well, from the vine overtaking one of our tangerine trees), I've started making and canning liliko'i jelly out of desperation. I mean, I love liliko'i - how could I waste it? Even though I am an anti-sugar person, mostly, I decided to make liliko'i jelly/jam. (Well, more accurately, I'm a person who *lurves* sugar but knows how bad it is for us human organisms, so I do my best to stay away.)

Liliko'i is not just a tangy, tart ball of delicious, it is also high in beta carotene (Vitamin A), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), iron, potassium, and dietary fiber (ref). Parts of the plant have been implicated to help a variety of ailments including high blood pressure, asthma, osteoarthritis, and maybe even some cancers (ref). I enjoy squeezing the juice of one fruit into a tall1 glass of water (and maybe a little muddled mint). It's a very refreshing drink for hot days.

just a small fraction of our liliko'i harvest

This was my first jelly making and canning experience. I found a basic recipe and protocol on Kris Bordessa's Attainable Sustainable blog. I fiddled with her recipe a bit to fit my own needs. In my recipe, I've added ginger, which is wonderful with liliko'i. In this recipe I use a steam canner (not a water bath or a pressure canner). I realize there is some controversy about steam canning, but after some research I'm convinced (enough) that it is safe for acidic foods. You can adapt it for any method of canning you choose. I also use Pomona pectin, which allows jellies to be lower in sugar and still jell. It includes a separate calcium solution that promotes pectin jelling. The recipe below calls for less than half the sugar used in typical jelly recipes.

The yield for this recipe is about 5-6 8 oz jars. I've calculated that it has less than 10 calories per teaspoon.

1a. Wash and rinse jars (used 8 oz jelly jars), set out (inverted) to dry on steam canner rack on counter.
1b. Wash lids & rings then bring to boil in the bottom part of steam canner. Turn off burner and let sit in hot water until use.

2. Use 4 cups liliko'i juice, about 8oz grated ginger with juice, and the juice of 1 lemon. Add 4 teaspoon calcium water (following the Pomona directions).

3. Measure a scant 2 cups sugar (I have been using organic sugar) in a separate bowl, thoroughly mix with 2.5 teaspoons Pomona pectin.

4. Bring juice and calcium mixture to a roiling boil, stirring frequently.

5. Add sugar/pectin mix, stirring vigorously to dissolve pectin.

6. Let boil, then turned off heat.At this point, you can skim off the foam that's formed, skim it off in the individual jars, or just leave it in. It is perfectly edible and only jelly snobs should care too much.

7. Use a ladle to fill jars to about 1/4 inch from top. Wipe off any jam sticking to the side of the jars. Pull lid and rings out of hot water (using tongs) and screw on to finger-tight.

8. Put rack in water bath (water is still warm) and put jars on rack. 

filled jars in steamer

9. Put top on, bring to vigorous boil. You want it as hot as possible to sterilize the jars.

10. Start timing 15 min when lots of steam is coming out through the holes in the canner lid. (The instructions say 8 in continuous stream.)

11. Turn off heat and let sit a few minutes before (carefully) opening lid. You should hear a *pop* pop* *pop* as the jars seal within a few minutes.

12. Bring jars (careful! they are hot!) to a towel on the counter and check seals.

I'm not capable of doing anything without wasting time with extra, crafty touches. *sigh*

Jelly making and canning was much easier than I expected. The chemistry and science involved were quite satisfying to my ex-researcher brain. I have since become a little bit obsessed with jelly making and canning. (A good thing, since liliko'i is still falling out of the tree... and now there is guava by the ton!)