Crumb cookies

In the area of wishful thinking, eating crumbs from a cookie container have no calories. I'm sure there are people who intentionally damage the cookies to nibble at the crumbs without actually counting it (you know who you are). But, what if the whole cookie was made up entirely of crumbs?

I present the realization of the dream. These are biscuits made without eggs, and a modicum of water. Sometimes just pressed together before being baked, they crumble at the touch of a tooth. And it is that very crumbly powdery texture of these little cakes that they are prized for.

Polvoron is the classic, the name itself deriving from the root "polvo", meaning powder. Made from wheat flour and powdered milk, it is incredibly delicate. Puto seko swaps out the wheat flour with cornstarch, resulting in a harder biscuit that suddenly dissolves into powder, absorbing all the saliva in your mouth. Competitions have been held where contestants are asked to put an entire puto seko in their mouths, and the first who can whistle wins.

My personal favorite are the uraro cookies, made from cassava flour, and come in small portions. The cassava flour appears to provide a balance of structure and flavor that quickly becomes addictive. Plus you can put an entire uraro biscuit in your mouth without gagging.

I do advise that you eat any of these with a glass of water alongside, just in case.