Baked Treats and Goodies for the Holidays

For a few years now, our dining table and refrigerator, especially during the holidays, have been laden with baked goods and sweets, boxed or pre-packaged ones you would often see in bazaars or during Christmas gift giving at work.

My brother and his wife, their day jobs in the telecom industry notwithstanding, have been flexing their entrepreneurial muscles for some time now, reselling food items like chicharon (Chicharon capital Sta. Maria, Bulacan is just two municipalities over where we live.) and said baked goods and sweets. We are only too eager to taste test and provide feedback.

clockwise from left: Pines brownies, Aiza's Sweets marzipan, Pines butterscotch, Chocovron polvoron, leche flan

Aiza's Sweets Marzipans are yema bonbons with generous slivers of cashew nuts. This is my sister's bet. Because she is nutty. Kidding.

Chocovron Polvoron is actually a brand of  polvoron with inventive flavors like malunggay, sometimes coated in chocolate. They're really good.

I am not sure of the brand of the leche flan but this one's a winner. This milky creamy flan is coated in a generous caramel sauce. It does not have the gelatin-y taste some flans have. Said flans use gelatin to hold them upright and keep their structure. There have been flans with fancy flavors like strawberry cheesecake and cookies and cream which have come out but this simple unadulterated flan will remain as our favorite.

pines crinkles, tart, cappucino, chocomarble, butterscotch, brownies

Pines Browniess and Delicacies offers an array of baked treats. Most popular would be their box containing cappucino, chocomarble, butterscotch, brownies. Consumed immediately, they're quite moist. Kept in refrigerator for some time, they take a crumbly texture.

Their crinkles are chewy, chocolate-y goodness so unlike cheap ones sold at some neighborhood bakeries which are hard, dense and lacking in chocolate. The tarts have just the right amount of yema filling.

Pines special brownie, carrot cake, Festival fruitcake (regular and special)

Pines also has special brownies. The cost is justified by how fudgier they are than the regular ones. They also have extra toppings like mini marshmallows, walnuts and chocolate chips.

Admittedly, this is the only carrot cake or carrot cupcake I could recall ever eating so my judgment on this one is limited. Pines carrot cake reminds me of a crumbly fruitcake without the liquor taste. The bits of carrots are not enough to impart an overwhelming carrot taste to the cupcakes.

Pines special brownies, carrot cake, Festival fruitcake (regular and special)

I could never understand why some people do not like fruitcakes. Maybe they just haven't received yummy fruitcakes is all. My adoration for fruitcakes started when I was a kid when my aunt told me that fruitcakes contain brandy. (She used to bake fruitcakes and would use flavored and colored kondol or white gourd melon instead of an array of fruits.)  Little me raring to be a grownup thought that having a slice of  fruitcake was absolutely sinful. Festival fruitcakes has made it to Spot.ph top ten fruitcakes, the most affordable one at that. The special Festival fruitcake is chunkier than the regular one, having more fruits and nuts.

I'm beginning to understand the appeal of baked goods and sweets during Christmas. Not only are they indulgent, they go well with hot beverages like coffee and tea which are then perfect for the nippy weather.

For more on the products mentioned above, visit their websites or facebook page.
Pines facebook: https://m.facebook.com/PinesBROWNIESElevenSeventeenMktg/
Chocovron website: http://chocovron.com/products/ facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/chocovronofficial
Aiza's Sweets facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/aizas.sweets.1

File photos. Some of those in the pictures are not the current or holiday packaging of the products.