Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, photo courtesy of Chef Valentina Silva

My mom is from Taft, Samar, in the Philippines. Every year she made us attend her hometown fiestas with her, which were parties that people from Taft who now lived in the States threw, celebrating their town and the Filipino culture. Lots of tasty food and lots of dancing. I just thought it was cool that even so far away from home they still celebrated where they came from. Now, I’ve never been to the Philippines before but had always hoped to one day visit my mom’s hometown. But the typhoon has completely altered the landscape of Samar, a lot of the small towns were wiped out.

A week later post-typhoon and its survivors are struggling with limited supplies, downed communication and finding missing family members. Fortunately the world has come together to help the country. If you still want to help, here’s one of the yummiest ways possible: the Eat My Blog 5.0 bake sale on Saturday, November 23 in Pasadena.

Relatives in Samar circa 1975 from family photos

Every previous Eat My Blog bake sale raised money for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, but this time for this very special edition, its sales will go to benefit the Philippine Red Cross which helps restore family links, provide safe blood and supply relief goods.

So just by purchasing LA Times’ Rene Lynch’s Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies, Gastronomy Blog’s Cathy Chaplin’s pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and Let Me Eat Cake’s Nastassia Johnson’s beloved ube cupcakes, you’ll be contributing to the cause to help Filipinos in need!

This year’s blogger/restaurant participants include the likes of Alma, Donut Snob, Diana Takes a Bite, HC Foodventures, Short Cake and more.

To whet your appetite,** Valentina from Eastside Food Bites** shared her recipe for the cookies she’s donating to the sale.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate and Cherry Chunks

(Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

Yield: Makes about 16 cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or 1 2oz chocolate bar chopped into small pieces
½ cup dried Bing cherries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips/chunks and dried cherries.

4. Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.