Hand-Painted ‘Protection Charms’ Cookies & Macarons Can Ward Off Both Bad Luck & Calories

The superpower to maintain your weight no matter how much food you eat is one that only the rare, few lucky ones of us have, and leaves the rest of us wishing we could do the same without worrying how many calories we just wolfed down.

It’s something that would come in especially handy during this Chinese New Year period, where we’re faced with the temptation of yummy goodies and relatives encouraging us to eat more and more during reunion dinners.

But what if I told you there now exists “protection charm” cookies that can help in warding off both bad luck and gaining calories? Sounds too good to be true, eh?

Away, Evil Spirits And Calories

You may have once received protection charms known as “ping an fu” (平安符) during Chinese New Year from some of your older relatives, who believe that such charms will be able to protect the receiver from evil spirits and harm.

For those unfamiliar with this tradition, such charms include an invocation of blessing or prayer written on a piece of small paper, wrapped in a pocket-like cocoon of Chinese embroidered silk that one can take around like a little keychain.

Melissa Huang, a Toronto based baker who you can find at @mellyeatsworld on Instagram, was inspired by the traditional charms to whip up the prettiest looking cookies that look exactly like these charms, right down to the intricate designs.

How could one bear to eat these beautiful creations and watch such beauty disappear into crumbs in a matter of seconds?!

Maybe through being unable to bring yourself to eat one, you’ll manage to abstain from it and in a way, evade a possible calorie intake.

She recounted her relatives gifting her with such charms, which range in meaning from protection against poor health, traffic accidents or even poor school grades.

These represented the love and blessings bestowed upon her by her relatives, and knowing that the tradition may slowly die out as her relatives who did so had sadly passed on, she decided to carry it on in the form of bakes for her nephew.

Each cookie is painstakingly hand-painted by Melissa herself – imagine how long it takes to decorate just one!

She Makes Animal Macarons And Cookies, Too

Besides the more traditional looking protection charm cookies, Melissa’s also concocted the cutest little animal-shaped macarons, which feature bunnies, pandas, pigs and other animals decked out in traditional cheongsams.

She also made these cute mouse-shaped macarons for last year’s festivities, as it was the Year of the Rat. Look at how precious these three mouseketeers are:

For this year, in line with the Year of the Ox, she’s shared photos of adorable butter cookies she made that resemble cows for the Happy Niu Year.

Melissa also said she’ll be posting more photos of handcrafted cow-related goodies on her Instagram page in the coming days.

Unfortunately, we won’t be able to get our hands on any as she’s based overseas. Perhaps it’s a good thing, for we’ll only be able to enjoy these sweet cravings with our eyes and not with our mouths.

But then again, all dieting plans were meant to go out of the window during Chinese New Year, anyway.

Featured Image: Instagram (@mellyeatsworld)