So it’s 23 sleeps til Panu and I go to Hong Kong, but um, no one’s really counting are they? I mean I’m not mildly OCD and in desperate need for a vacation am I?? I am. Indeed I am, and shut up to all of you who say I travel too much.

This trip to Hong Kong is going to be especially awesome because we’re going for my cousin’s wedding (read: big. Chinese. banquet. WIN!) and I get to see my parents who I haven’t seen in over a year. Plus of course there’s food. And food. And markets. And shopping. And food.

But there’s one thing I’m afraid of when I hit the shores of Hong Kong and fall into this enormous family do: my unavoidable fatness.

Because in my family, I have a squillion cousins (I’m not even really exaggerating here, I do have over 100 first cousins), many of them female, around my age, and gorgeous and thin, and I’m quite sure that this is the case because none of them are even a fraction as obsessed about filling their food hole as I am.

And while I know I’m not actually fat, some things are relative and when photographed next to my stick thin cousins, trust me, I’ll be “the chubby one”.

Big sigh.

So what am I going to do about being the chubby one? Well, damned if I’m going to go on a diet. If you ask me, life’s too short and I’ll diet when I’m my teeth have fallen out.

Instead, last week found me at Marks & Spencers buying one of those tummy flattening, ass reducing sculptor things, which will supposedly hold my tummy in while I eat up a storm at the wedding. Never mind that the “sculptor thing” is actually elastic and will probably stretch with my food-filled stomach, as long as I look good at the start of the night, when the majority of photos are taken, that’s all that matters.

By the way, it also occurred to me that maybe I don’t have to wear such a slinky-tight pencil dress, or eat all of these butter cookies. Honestly though? Vanity is everything, but eating is more fun.

This recipe is adapted from Pig Pig’s Corner, except hers are like way prettier than mine.

ps. if you’re looking to buy matcha, try your local Chinese or Japanese grocer, or check out teapigs.

matcha butter cookies (or plain ones!)
200 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
50 grams icing sugar
150 grams plain flour
50 grams corn flour
1/2 teaspooon vanilla extract
1/4 Tablespoon matcha powder
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C/355°F.
  2. Beat butter and icing sugar together until creamy.
  3. Sift in flour and corn flour, and add vanilla extract. Mix well until dough is formed.
  4. At this point, I separated the dough into two batches and added the matcha powder to one batch. If you’re only making matcha ones, amend the matcha powder amount to suit.
  5. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
  6. Using your hands, make little balls and lay on tray about 3-4 cms apart.
  7. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the sides are slightly brown. Remove the entire sheet from baking tray and transfer to wire rack to cool.
  8. Store in an airtight container.
Pig Pig’s Corner’s recipe made 50, but I think mine are  a little huge, I managed to get 30 cookies.

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