The 11th child out of 16 in a Kurtistown family on the Big Island, Ching remembers her mother made a delicious cake using a wood-burning stove. ![]() She’ll sometimes do that for other children as well. Instead of using an ice cream scoop to dole out uniform cookies, Ching creates five logs of dough from the mix, then portions out walnut-sized pieces that she rolls into balls by hand.Īs a special touch, she will personalize cookies for her grandsons Aaron and Evan, writing their names on the cookies in food coloring. Not one to use a standing mixer, Ching prefers to mix her dough by hand using a spatula in a large bowl to give herself plenty of room. “If you add in all the ingredients at once, it will taste like chewing gum.” “You need to go step-by-step,” she advises. She then uses a measuring spoon to add 2 additional tablespoons. The Crisco goes into the dough, the water is poured out and the measuring cup stays relatively clean. When measuring the Crisco, she fills a measuring cup with 1 cup of water, then spoons in shortening until the water rises to the 2-cup mark. ![]() She always wears an apron and keeps a plate nearby to neatly rest all the spoons, measuring spoons, spatulas and chopsticks, “so they are not all over creation.” When making many batches at a time, she recommends presifting the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda and salt - into large plastic bags, so each batch is ready to be added. First, she says it pays to buy large cans of Crisco when it goes on sale at Christmas, and freeze it. She has a total system for the process, as she produces a large volume. Now 86, Ching no longer sells her signature cookies, but she makes them to give to friends and those who are good to her family – husband Samuel Lloyd Ching, known for Sam’s Barbershop, son Patrick and daughter Cynthia Yamasaki. Three small red dots are her unique mark on a pale cookie that is tender and more cakelike than flaky. ![]() The cookies are beautiful, uniform in size and shape with no cracks. So much so that Ching would make large batches to sell at craft fairs under the brand “Best by Billie,” often as fundraisers for organizations. So she kept trying different variations, including adding an egg, until she liked the taste, look and texture. It was too crumbly and difficult to form into its distinctive round shape. Yok Heong “Billie” Ching of Kaneohe tried a recipe for almond cookies 60 years ago and she didn’t quite like it. Pick any recipe, make it continuously for years and it will become your trademark. There is some truth to the adage that practice makes perfect.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |