On January 24, 2020, Cynthia, Faith, and Eileen helped make cookies for the Chinese New Year celebration at the East Cobb Library.
The volunteers made 2 types of cookies: walnut cookies and “cat ear” cookies.The cookies were Chinese traditional new years cookies to be handed out for the Chinese New Years Festival at the East Cobb Library the next day.
First, the batter for the walnut cookies was made. Cynthia helped chop walnuts, and Eileen and Faith measured out other ingredients. After the ingredients were all mixed together into a batter, Cynthia, Faith, and Eileen all helped shape the batter into small, flattened balls. After one batch was finished, Cynthia and Eileen started making the second batch while Faith coated the top of the first batch of walnut cookies with egg wash. The first batch went into the oven, and soon after the second batch of cookies followed. The walnut cookies turned out to have a beautiful golden brown color on the top from the egg, and they both looked and smelled extremely appetizing.
Then, the volunteers started to make the cat ear cookies. These cookies required 3 layers of dough. The first layer was a lighter-colored white dough, followed by a darker-colored brown dough, and finally the same light-colored white dough. Cynthia and Eileen helped make the dough. Faith applied the honey in between each layer of dough to help it stick together. After all three layers were made and stacked on each other, the dough was rolled up and left to chill.
Since the walnut cookies were done cooling, Cynthia and Faith helped package the cookies into small bags. Another batch of walnut cookies was made for a total of three walnut cookie batches in all. The cat ear cookies were still chilling, and Faith and Eileen left before they were done. Cynthia finished the rest of them.
All the volunteers enjoyed the baking process and were very satisfied with the delicious result. On the next day, as people ate the cookies, members were complimented to the deliciousness of the cookies. The bakers were glad that they were able to represent the Chinese culture well with the cookies.
Attendance: Faith Huang (2 hours), Eileen Zhang (2 hours), Cynthia Ruan (2.5 hours)
Report By Faith Huang
