Cookies From Home

Seattle author Kat Lieu introduces a first-of-its-kind cookbook centered on Asian cookies.

Kat Lieu has built a career out of baking, storytelling, and standing up for what she believes in. A former doctor of physical therapy turned bestselling cookbook author, she’s based in Seattle, is the founder of the online community Subtle Asian Baking and is the author of Modern Asian Baking at Home, a book that redefined how home bakers approach flavors from across the Asian diaspora.

Her latest book, 108 Asian Cookies, published in October, is a personal tribute. The number 108 is deeply intentional: a nod to her late father, who loved the number eight for its meaning of luck and fortune, and who Lieu once comforted at the end of his life by telling him he had finally “won the lottery.” After his passing, she says he “kept sending me eights,” a sign she took as a blessing. From there, she knew her next book needed to end with an eight, and 108 became a way to honor both her family and her Chinese culture, which prizes the number as a symbol of abundance.

True to Lieu’s ethos, 108 Asian Cookies is a book that gathers flavors, traditions, and communities together. It is also the first cookbook solely dedicated to Asian cookies. It’s filled with inventive recipes, many co-created with members of her Subtle Asian Baking community, featuring ingredients like gochujang, ube, miso, tahini, matcha, and even MSG.

Read the feature and interview here!