Aparon

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Aparon is a Filipino dessert from Malolos City, Bulacan in Central Luzon. It is made from toasted, unused communion wafers drizzled with caramelized sugar, with sesame seeds sometimes sprinkled on top. The main ingredients are wheat flour, water, and sugar.

The dessert was created in 1972 by Socorro Vistan Malonzo. She learned wafer baking from the Augustinian Sisters in Malolos and turned wafer trimmings, which would otherwise be wasted, into a tasty treat to sell to nearby churches in Bulacan and Pampanga. The name Aparon comes from combining “apa” (wafer) and “chicharon” (puffed food).

A variation called angel cookies emerged in the mid-1980s, developed by Sr. Anesilde Antonio of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit. These cookies incorporate wafer pieces into cookie dough in a way similar to chocolate chip cookies.