Cookies & Macarons Hand-Painted To Look Like Protection Charms
Eating auspicious food and receiving ang baos can give us the extra huat we need to start the new year right. Some older aunties also give out embroidered protection charms to defend us from sickness and evil spirits.
Toronto-based baker Melissa Huang (@mellyeatsworld) used these charms as inspiration for her intricately hand-painted animal macarons and royal icing sugar cookies.
These concoctions are definitely too pretty to eat. We bet it could even protect us from binging on too many desserts while visiting houses for bai nian.
Protection charm cookies and macarons
Ms Huang’s hand-painted cookie designs are inspired by the shape of protection charms, otherwise known as “ping an fu” (平安符).
These charms take the form of fabric pouches that include prayers or invocations written on thin paper, which are then encased in a brocade bag, traditionally made of elegant Chinese embroidered silk fabric.
Ms Huang recounted how her relatives would give her these charms to ward off bad spirits, traffic accidents, and even poor school grades.
But she knew that they represented the blessings and love she got from her relatives.
Unfortunately, her older relatives have passed on so she was worried this practice would fade with time.
As a result, she hand-painted gorgeous protection charms for her nephew to keep the tradition alive.
For added variety, she also created bunny, panda, and big animal biscuits which appear to be dressed in silk cheongsams.
Mouse macarons & cow cookies
Besides her beautiful protection charms, Ms Huang also creates other enviable treats
For example, last year, Ms Huang concocted these precious mouse macarons for the Year of the Rat.
We can definitely relate to this mice squad that looks like our OOTD Instagram photos with our tight-knit siblings and cousins during CNY.
Since the Lunar New Year will mark the beginning of the Year of the Ox, Ms Huang also shared her cow butter cookies that she made.
She quipped that we’ll probably see more of such bovine-related food items in the following weeks, and boy, was she right.
As the holiday season approaches, Ms Huang shared that she’ll post more CNY and bovine-themed bakes. You can follow her upcoming creations on her Instagram here.
Ward off evil CNY calories
CNY feasts often mean abandoning our initial weight loss goals. But perhaps Ms Huang’s protection charm cookies can satisfy your cravings just by staring at the dessert, instead of gobbling it down.
Maybe that’s a trick to try next time you eye those delectable pineapple tarts at your relative’s house.
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Featured image adapted from Instagram.
