The cookie recipe from Hanna Huang is posted below and can also be found at: http://fauxbana.com/matcha-taiwan-love-cookies/

These are my absolute favorite cookies to make! They are simply sugar cookies that I color mostly with natural ingredients and some gel food coloring if it needs an extra color boost. The rolled sugar cookie recipe is adapted from one of the most popular ones I have found on Allrecipes.

Matcha Taiwan Love Cookies

*makes approximately 4 dozen

adapted from The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies 

1 Taiwan shaped cookie cutter from Cheap Cookie Cutters

1 Small heart cutter (I bought a set of 3 different size heart-shaped cutters and used the smallest one)

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

2 cups white sugar (can substitute half of this with sugar-free substitute like stevia)

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

5 cups all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur unbleached white whole wheat flour when I can)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons matcha green tea powder (I found a very large bottle of this at my local Korean grocery for a very reasonable price of $8.99. The Japanese brands can be much smaller amounts for a higher cost.)

5-6 drops Green gel food coloring

3-4 drops Red gel food coloring

(you can try to substitute w/ regular food dye, but I recommend the gel coloring because I find it easier to work with as well as it produces much more consistent results.)

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl until mixture is even and smooth. Beat in eggsand extracts. Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside about a cup’s worth of dough, this will be reserved for use as the hearts
• Fold in the matcha powder as evenly as possible at this point. Feel free to add in extra for a stronger green tea punch! Depending on what kind of green you are going for, you will now mix in the gel coloring by using a spatula. Get it as streak-less and into a smooth color as possible. Use more gel as needed to desired color depth.
• Roll out dough into 2 sheets between 2 sheets of parchment paper to about the length of a standard cookie sheet somewhere between a 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. I like to stay on the thicker side since the shape of Taiwan tends to break easily if you want to ship or transport them longer distances.

• Use the Taiwan cookie cutter to cut out the shapes (while on parchment paper) but DO NOT REMOVE THEM from the sheet of dough yet. Transfer that entire sheet onto a cookie sheet and do the same w/ other sheets of dough. Stack them on each other with parchment paper separating the sheets to be chilled in the fridge at least 1 hour.
• Do the same for the dough reserved for the hearts. Don’t forget to add the red food coloring first!
• After the matcha dough has chilled, remove from fridge and cut out hearts in the middle of the Taiwan shapes. Place a heart shaped red-color dough in the opening that is left to complete the cookie and place on a parchment lined baking sheet to prepare for baking.

• Bake cookies for 5-7 minutes. Try not to let the edges get brown and too burnt. Cookies are done once you see a slight puffing to the dough. They are starting to become burnt once the edges start browning.
• Dough can be frozen and defrosted for use within the span of a week.

I’d love to see people’s pictures of their Taiwan shaped baked goodies! Feel free to ask me for advice if you have any questions as well.

Link if you cannot see the form embedded below: 2013 Scholarship Application

When: Thursday 3/16/13 at 8:00 PM (Doors open at 07:00 PM)

Where: Renton Civic Theatre. Renton, WA.

Ticket Price: $15.00 (Pre-sale $8.00 with DISCOUNT CODE: “disoriented”) Get your tickets at http://disorientedcomedy.com/

THE COMICS:
Mona Concepcion (The first & only Chamarro female comic & local favorite)
Yola Lu (Bumbershoot, Dis/orient/ed)
Jenny Yang (2012 CA Funniest Female Top 3, Dis/orient/ed)
Atsuko Okatsuka (Pretty Funny Women, LittleRock)
Aparna Nancherla (Totally Biased w/ W. Kamau Bell)

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Come out and support Dis/orient/ed Comedy an all female Asian American stand up comedy tour! (cohosted with TAP-LA)

Meet-up with TAP-LA & NATWA II members and friends/guests before the show (RSVP by emailing Julie Chao at julie.chao@tap-la.org in order for us to expect you):

1. Meet at 6:15pm to have dinner at Tender Greens and/or
2. Meet at 7:30pm in front of the Westside Comedy Theater to sit together in the theater

————————–

This show features favorites from the kickoff event and fresh comedic voices new to Dis/orient/ed Comedy fans.

When: Thursday 01/31/13 8:00 PM (Doors open at 07:45 PM)
Ticket Price: $15.00 (Pre-sale $8.00 with DISCOUNT CODE: “disoriented”)
Click here to purchase ticket – http://westsidecomedy.com/show.cfm?id=217854&cart

No Food or Drink Minimum

PARKING: Convenient & inexpensive City Parking Structure #3 next door (http://www.yelp.com/biz/city-of-santa-monica-public-parking-lot-3-santa-monica)

AGE: 21 years old or older
———————–
Comedy from:
* Jenny Yang (2012 TAP-LA Banquet Performer; CA Funniest Female 2012-Top 3)
* Monrok (SiTV, Last Comic Standing)
* Helen Hong (TV Guide Network, Little Ethnic Girls)
* Maria Shehata (Showtime, Little Ethnic Girls)
* Kyle Mizono (Super Serious Show, Edinburgh Fringe)
* Atsuko Okatsuka (littleRock, Pretty Funny Women)
———-
Dis/orient/ed Comedy:
Showcasing the funny and powerful voices of Asian American female comedians. All female. All Asian. All funny.
http://disorientedcomedy.com/
http://facebook.com/disorientedcomedy
http://twitter.com/getdisoriented

NATWA 2 Facebook Event Page

Dis/orient/ed Official Facebook Event

Last year, one of our NATWA II panelists was Victoria Linchong, Taiwanese American actress, writer, producer and director extraordinaire working in both theater and film. Victoria’s feature directorial debut–Almost Home: Taiwan, is currently in post-production. Asian Cinevision recently did interview with Victoria about the film sparked by a 2008 visit back to Taiwan.

Asian Cinevision Article

More about Victoria Linchong

Almost Home: Taiwan Blog

Facebook Page

Taiwanese American Women Standing Up: A Community Service Event
Saturday, January 12, 2013
12:30pm to 3:30pm
Taiwan Center
3001 Walnut Grove Ave.
Rosemead, CA 91770

A keynote speaker from the Center for the Pacific Asian Family will speak about domestic violence issues in the API community. NATWA II’s own Deana Chuang will also speak about prosecuting domestic violence crimes.

This event will be a potluck, so bring your favorite dish if you would like to join us for lunch.

We also ask that you bring one item, such as a kitchen item, toy or clothes for the clients of CPAF.

RSVP to Deana at dchuang47@hotmail.com or natwa2admin@natwa.com by January 9th.

Facebook Event Link

NATWA II Programming will be from April 19-21. Stay tuned for more information. Last year we had over 30 lovely ladies join us for NATWA II events. This year, we hope to see even more!

NATWA 2012 Annual Convention Page

2012 NATWA Convention pictures in San Jose, courtesy Shu-Jon Mao:

NATWA 2 / Silicon Valley Night / Workshops / NATWA Night / People

The deadline for the 100 Mothers and Daughters survey has been extended! You can continue to fill out the form until May 7 – just in time for Mother’s Day. Visit http://goo.gl/QSQ6u to participate in our project!

Feeling constricted by the survey format? Go ahead and expand! You can send a short essay or video essay on the topic of your relationship, as a Taiwanese American/Canadian woman, with your mother or daughter. If you want, you can use the survey questions for inspiration. And don’t forget to send us your photos! Email pierce.emmy@gmail.com.