I used to complain about how loud my dad was in the kitchen every morning, while I tried to sleep in. Unless… I heard the deafening rumble of the blender and the repetitive clicking of the gas stove trying to get started. I smelled a rich, nutty aroma traveling into my room.
It was 米漿 (rice milk).
Growing up, it wasn’t OJ or milk, but 豆漿 (soy milk) or 米漿 (rice milk), and sometimes both mixed together.
Rice milk is made of rice (of course) and roasted peanuts. A sip of creamy, hot 米漿 reminds me of cozy, homey fall mornings with a gentle ray of sun coming peeking in from the kitchen window. I could feel my body heat up from the inside out. The bottom of the cup was always sandy with itty bits of peanuts that fell through the mesh strainer. Feeling all warm inside, I’d rush out the door with my backpack and lunch bag for school.
I wanted to recreate that warm, nutty, creamy memory in a cookie. So, I researched what every ingredient does to a cookie-- creaming the butter vs. browning the butter, baking soda vs. baking powder, egg yolks vs. egg whites... I was so frustrated from a batch that was too salty, another that was too flat, and one that simply was the wrong color.
I had to stop thinking too much. Screw it. I whisked together ingredients that goes in 米漿 and cookies: browned butter, brown sugar, eggs, brown rice flour, peanut powder, and baking soda. To be extra, I added in some homemade peanut powdered mochi with soy milk, sprinkled peanut crumble on top, and popped them in the oven at 350ºF for 20 minutes. The peanuts roasting in the oven gave me a scent of hope. I just made up my first recipe ever!!
“Pretty good oh~”
Chewy, but slightly crumbly too.
“It just melted in my mouth." (quotes from the fam)
You can’t even tell it’s gluten free.
It’s like a Taiwanese kind of PSL (pumpkin spice latte), except peanut soy milk latte in this case. I think I just discovered how to end the day with 米漿 too.