Mrs. MM speaks fondly of a masa podrida (sort of like a shortbread cookie) from childhood with a filling of dense homemade mango jam that her yaya/cook used to make. I have yet to successfully replicate it. First, I haven’t found a decent masa podrida recipe and the purchased versions are not up to snuff. Second, you just can’t sandwich jam between two cookies, you need to bake it all together to get close to the cookie Mrs. MM describes. Also, for some reason, I seem to have issues with delicate cookies with fillings…maybe my fingers are too big or I just can’t figure out how to roll the dough thin enough or moist enough to fold it over without cracks… the same goes for empanadas… I am challenged in this area but am determined to figure this out someday. At any rate, with gobs of recently made, brilliant mango jam, I decided to experiment with some leftover pie dough that I had in the fridge…
I rolled out the dough and managed to get 13 round discs with a diameter of 
about 2.5 inches. I first tried to put a little jam in the center and fold the dough over to get a half moon shape but the dough was too crumbly and it promptly broke up and looked like a disaster…I threw it out. Maybe my dough was just too dry or too cold to begin with. So I left the dough out on the counter on a HOT summer’s day for another five minutes before deciding to make fewer cookies with two layers of dough sandwiching more mango jam within. In theory this sounded good, but as you can see, the upper piece of dough inevitably cracked open. But not to worry, it looked like it was on purpose and after brushing it with a simple egg wash and baking it in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes and letting it cool a bit, they tasted fantastic.
The crust was more pie like and flaky (not like a shortbread) but the balance 
between buttery, flaky crust and the sweet heated mango jam within was delicious. I could have a half dozen of these with tea and then check me in to the weight watchers class that evening…These cookies were a bit blond… the next time I would put the shelf in the oven up a little and let these get some more color on top. Also, once out, you can brust the cookie tops with butter and sprinkle with fine sugar if you want to go a little over the top. These cookies last a few days before getting soggy in our humid weather. But with just 6 precious test cookies the day I made these, they were gone before sundown.
15 Responses
Maybe you can make a thumbprint sort of cookies and fill it with the jam. I like when the jam is baked with the cookie and gets thick and chewey.
Kind of like this: https://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Berry-Shortbread-Dreams/Detail.aspx
Your mango jam trail is eternity. Mango jam is a magic wand whatever it touches it turns good! Next time you make these cookies prick the top with fork thine for ventilation of the baking filling before it oozes out like lava from an erupting volcano – only a suggestion. I never made masa podrida myself but my memory takes me back in my grandmother’s baking era. Of course, she never used measuring cups. It was always by touch and experience. Her ingredients for masa podrida was the mighty, powerful and glorious pork fat, flour, hard boiled egg yolks that had been grated, sugar, salt and splashes of cold water as a binder. The idea is like making a pie crust just gather everything into a ball and keep it in the refrigerator until set.
Those cookies look fantastic. I wish I knew how to bake…
These look so good Market Man. I like your initial idea of folding the pie dough over, they would have been like little Mango Jam empanadas.
just wondering if the ravioli mould would work?
they look yummy. At Sugar, @food network, she made three discs of the crust, the third disc had an inner circle cutout so that the two whole discs will sandwich the disc with the cutout, there’s more room for more filling. i never tried making them though.
Have you tried to make shortbread (plain) and then filled it with mango jam?
All this mango jam posts make me think of how else to use it in other dishes (as a side dish to curry, or a dollop in a halo-halo like ice dessert). Hmmm, mango bread.
MM, can i just say… WOW!! i’m off to the oven to try this one out. Looks like a keeper.
does it taste like those mango empanadas you can buy in cebu and bacolod? have you tried those MM?
kathygirl, yes I know what you mean, they give me some every night at the hotel I stay at in Cebu…they are good! But somehow the cebu dough is softer, more like empanaditas nga. Mine are flakier. Maybe I need to add more butter and water to the dough, or they add a little milk perhaps?
lojet, thanks for that link and oh, the thumbprint trick is a good one! Maria Clara, that masa prodrida sounds close to the one my wife is seeking! Fried neurons, you really need to give pies a try, they are super easy and lots of interesting variations can be done… Marvin, I would have folded if the dough were soft enough… see the upcoming post on langka turnovers for the results… Mrs. M, ravioli mold might work, but maybe a hassle to get the cookies out? Mila, I do have to try a more classic shortbread recipe with the jam… The Steak Lady, try to brown them a bit more than mine, they look better that way!
That really looks “yummy”!
These look great! (I love anything with pie crust.) I agree, though, a more golden color would make them perfect. Have you tried those little mango tarts from Cebu? I can’t remember the brand, but they don’t look like empanaditas; it’s like a square of crust with mango jam in the middle, then the two corners folded over the top. It’s now available in Manila groceries, usually in a hard plastic container (not a bag). Those are really good for a commercially-produced pastry. I can eat half a pack without even noticing. Also, has Mrs. MM tried the Masa Podrida from Good Shepherd Baguio? I saw those for the first time last year and really liked them, but they’re not to everyone’s taste.
Mmmmmm, masa podrida! Brings back memories of my childhood. My mom used to make masa podrida using my lola’s recipe. It was so addicting. I guess I should ask my mom for the recipe and start baking it for the kiddos.
Your masa podrida does look blond. As for the top crust cracking, I remember that my mom’s version had vents on the top crust, like a little cross or X in the middle. You really need to create a vent, much in the same way as when you put vents in a top crust of a pie.
They actually look perfect with the top crust bursting open :) These look like something I’d really like…hmmm I have to get cracking on that jam!
My lola used to bake amazing masa podrida cookies too, and the recipe is very similar to what Maria Clara shared, except the egg yolks weren’t boiled.