Copyright berkshireeagle
When Kat Lieu's "108 Asian Cookies: Not-Too-Sweet Treats from a Third-Culture Kitchen" arrived on my doorstep, I immediately posted a story on Instagram, tagging my son, Isaac, and his girlfriend, Locke. Immediately, Locke replied, "OMG." I replied that I was going to be making some for a column, and sent photos of the recipe lists at the beginning of each of the cookbook's eight chapters. "Isaac says the Cookies and Cream with Ube Cheesecake. I think the Miso and Hot-Chocolate Brownie Cookies might be yummy too," Locke replied. I agreed and added that I'd also make the Gochujang and Berry Jam Chocolate Thumbprints. Call it an excuse to see my son, who is away at school. He might be 12 miles north of us, living on campus at MCLA, but it feels like he's in another state. It was also a way to get the opinion of my son and his five 20-something townhouse roommates. THIRD-CULTURE KITCHEN Now, you might be wondering what a third-culture kitchen is. Simply put, by Lieu, third culture means "growing up caught between two (or more cultures): one being from the homeland of your parents, the other being the environment you are raised in." In Leui's case, her mother is Chinese, from Hong Kong; her father, Chinese Vietnamese raised in Vietnam. Her parents met in Montreal, where Leui was born. She was raised in the Coney Island portion of Brooklyn, N.Y. The kitchen part is Lieu's kitchen. I'm telling you this because you will not find strictly Asian cookies in this book. Some are. Some are flavors from across the Asian diaspora. Others are a mesh of Asian and Western flavors, as experienced by Lieu and other members of her virtual platform "Subtle Asian Baking." And some are Asian-inspired cookies. It really doesn't matter at the end of the day. What matters is they are delicious. THE COOKIES Luckily, each of the cookies I chose to make had (unfathomably gorgeous) photographs accompanying the recipes, so I had a visual reference. Each was simple to make, and I liked all three kinds. I also made a version of the Miso and Hot-Chocolate Brownie Cookies with milk chocolate instead of semi-sweet for Locke, who cannot eat semi-sweet or dark chocolate. The difference? The milk chocolate cookies did not retain their shape; spreading out into flat chocolate chip-like cookies. How did they fare with my son and friends? "I really liked the Gochjang and Berry Jam Thumbprints," Isaac texted me Sunday night. "I really liked how the jam in the middle combined with the rest of it." These cookies are great, in my opinion, because not only are they a delicious, chewy cookie, but they finish with a nice, even heat. "People really liked the Cookies and Cream with Ube Cheesecake Cookies. I know I preferred them more without the sesame seeds. It was a nice, light snack and I felt the texture of the sesame seeds threw it off. The brownie cookies were just pretty solid cookies." I hated to tell him that I didn't include my second batch of the Miso and Hot-Chocolate Brownie cookies, because, dear reader, they are very excellent cookies that taste just like hot chocolate. Overall, I'm looking forward to trying more of these recipes. I'm sure Isaac and his roommates won't object. And as Isaac said in a message, "At the very least, you'll find a new recipe to bring to your work cookie swap." (One of his favorite holiday traditions.) GOCHUJANG AND BERRY JAM CHOCOLATE THUMBPRINTS (Excerpted from "108 Asian Cookies" by Kat Lieu. Copyright © 2025 by Kathleen Lieu. Used with permission from Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company.) Makes: 36 thumbprint cookies Prep time: 19 minutes | Inactive time: 30 minutes | Filling: 5 minutes | Bake time: 13 to 15 minutes INGREDIENTS For the cookies: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1 teaspoon cayenne powder, plus more for dusting 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon red miso 1 large egg 1 tablespoon Greek yogurt or sour cream Milk, if needed 1/4 cup coarse or demerara sugar, placed in a shallow bowl, plus more as needed For the filling: 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup strawberry or raspberry jam 1 1/2 tablespoons gochujang, or to taste 1 cup chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips For optional toppings: Toasted white sesame seeds Sea salt flakes Cayenne powder Make the cookies. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, cayenne powder, baking powder and baking soda together in a medium bowl. Set aside. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, whisk, or spatula), cream the butter, confectioners’ sugar and miso together until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the egg and yogurt or sour cream and mix until well incorporated. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. If you find the dough too dry and crumbly, mix in a teaspoon or two of milk. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes. About 25 minutes before baking, adjust two racks to the upper-and lower-middle positions of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough, roll into a smooth, shiny ball, and toss in the bowl of sugar to coat evenly. Repeat to make 36 balls, placing them about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Using a clean thumb, press down in the center of each dough ball to make a deep, round well. You can also make a heart-shaped well with your thumb by making a V-shaped indentation. Be sure not to punch a hole through the cookies, but keep the well deep as the cookies do puff up and lose some of the indent during baking. Bake all the cookies, switching the sheets between top and bottom racks and rotating front to back once halfway through, until the cookie edges are set and the tops puff and crack, 13 to 15 minutes. If the wells have puffed up, use a little spoon to indent the cookies again. Let the cookies set directly on the baking sheets for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Make the filling. In a small saucepan, stir the cream, jam and gochujang over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges. Add the chocolate, remove from the heat, and whisk until smooth. Fill each of the cookies with about a teaspoon of filling. If you like, sprinkle sesame seeds and sea salt flakes over the filling. You can also dust the cookies with a little cayenne powder for more heat and a pop of color. Serve while the filling is still melty, or let the cookies rest at room temperature or chill in the refrigerator until the filling hardens. How you like to enjoy these thumbprint cookies is up to you. Cookie Tip: If the cookie dough cracks too much when you’re making the indents, reroll into a ball and make the indent again. Substitution: You can substitute coconut milk for the heavy cream in the filling. Storage: Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. MISO AND HOT-CHOCOLATE BROWNIE COOKIES (Excerpted from "108 Asian Cookies" by Kat Lieu. Copyright © 2025 by Kathleen Lieu. Used with permission from Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company.) Gluten-free cookies Makes: 12 to 14 cookies Prep time: 20 minutes |Bake time: About 10 minutes INGREDIENTS About 1/4 cup glutinous rice flour 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 large egg 1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar 1 teaspoon red miso 1/2 cup chopped semisweet chocolate 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips Miniature marshmallows, for topping Sea salt flakes, for garnish Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Adjust a rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 F. Whisk the glutinous rice flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder together in a small bowl. Set aside. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg, brown sugar and miso on high until pale, fluffy, thick, and doubled in volume, about 2 minutes. Set aside. Melt the chopped chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, in a saucepan over low heat, or in a microwave in a medium heatproof bowl in 30-second bursts. Mix until well combined and no chocolate lumps remain. Check the temperature of the chocolate mixture; it should be 115 F to 122 F. If it’s too hot, allow it to cool down to the right temperature. Pour the mixture into the bowl of the stand mixer and mix at low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Gently fold in the chocolate chips. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough and drop onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat to make 13 cookies, spacing them at least 1 inch apart to allow for minimal spreading. Smooth out the tops with a wet finger. Bake the cookies until their tops are glossy and exhibit a crinkled, cracked appearance, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and promptly press a mini marshmallow or two into the top of each hot cookie. Garnish the cookies with a small pinch of sea salt flakes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookie tip: A dusting of confectioners’ sugar will make these cookies festive. Variation: Substitute gochujang for the miso to make spicy brownie cookies. Just double-check the labels first to be sure the gochujang is gluten-free if that is a concern. COOKIES AND CREAM WITH UBE CHEESECAKE COOKIES (Excerpted from "108 Asian Cookies" by Kat Lieu. Copyright © 2025 by Kathleen Lieu. Used with permission from Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company.) Here you’ll be sandwiching homemade cheesecake cookie dough between store-bought chocolate cookies and cream sandwich cookies, like Oreos. Note, these cookies are meant to spread a little, and they should be soft right out of the oven. Resist the urge to pick them up, as they will immediately crumble if you do, and be patient as the cookies set and crisp up at room temperature. Makes: About 20 cookies Prep time: 15 minutes |Inactive time: 30 minutes |Bake time: About 15 minutes INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 4 ounces cream cheese (half an 8-ounce block), softened 3/4 cup unpacked light brown sugar 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon red miso 1 large egg 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice About 2 teaspoons ube extract (with color) 20 store-bought chocolate cookies and cream sandwich cookies, plus more in case some crack or break Sesame seeds (black or white), placed in a shallow bowl (optional) Shredded coconut, placed in a shallow bowl (optional) Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Set aside. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, whisk, or spatula), cream the butter, cream cheese, sugars and miso together until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the egg, lemon zest and juice, and ube extract and mix until well incorporated. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until a cookie dough forms. Working one at a time, gently twist open a sandwich cookie and scrape off the cream layer. (Or, if you like the cream layer, keep it intact.) Scoop about 1 heaping tablespoon of cookie dough and roll into a smooth ball. Place this dough ball between the two halves of the cookie, gently pressing them together to form a sandwich. If you like, thoroughly roll the rims of the cookie in the sesame seeds and/or coconut. Repeat to use up all the cookie dough and assemble about 20 cookies. Place them on the prepared baking sheets at least 2 inches apart to accommodate spreading during baking. Chill, uncovered, in the freezer for 30 minutes. About 25 minutes before baking, adjust two racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spritz some water over the tops of every cookie. Bake all the cookies, switching the sheets between top and bottom racks and rotating front to back once halfway through, until the cookie edges begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Let the cookies set and cool directly on the baking sheet. Cookie Tip: Don’t skip the lemon zest and juice, as they bring a refreshing flavor and work beautifully with ube. I’ve always felt cheesecake is no good without tang. Storage: Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. COOKBOOK REVIEW "108 Asian Cookies: Not-Too-Sweet Treats from a Third-Culture Kitchen" by Kat Lieu Published by Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company
