Baker Celebrates Asian American Representation with Her Amazing Cookies

September 13, 2019

A Pennsylvania baker is honoring the achievements of Asian American heroes in a delicious way by turning them into butter cookies.

Jasmine Cho, who runs specialty bakery Yummyholic in Pittsburgh, dedicates her free time highlighting the contributions made by Asian Americans and Pacific Islander leaders and activists for the AAPI community.

She has recreated the likenesses of numerous AAPI personalities, including West Coast Filipino American labor organizer Larry Itliong, first Asian American Olympic gold medalist Sammy Lee, Japanese American activist Richard Aoki, civil rights activist and philosopher Grace Lee Boggs, and actress Awkwafina among many others, in cookie form.

After turning the heroic personalities into tasty treats, Cho posts photos of them on Instagram where she noted how she uses cookies to elevate representation.

She also gets involved with local cultural centers and galleries so they can feature the cookie portraits in exhibits.

“I already love baking, so I wanted to apply the gifts I already had to something greater,” Cho was quoted as saying. “Creativity isn’t always about coming up with something original; sometimes it’s just figuring out how to combine things that don’t typically go together, like cookies and social justice.”

She expounded on the importance of representation in her first children’s book back in May titled, “Role Models Who Look Like Me: Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders Who Made History.”

Cho was born in Los Angeles, California to parents who immigrated from South Korea. She spent her early years with her family in New Mexico and then Hawaii before settling in Pennsylvania. She is a self-taught baker and artist who started baking professionally in 2010.

She has been recognized for her work by CREATOR of the Year (Pittsburgh Technology Council, Creative Industries Network), Small Business Community Champion (Citizens Bank), and the Women & Business Award (Pittsburgh Magazine).

In a speech at a 2019 TEDxPittsburgh event, Cho encouraged everyone to build their own platforms to elevate awareness on social justice issues just as she uses cookies to do them.

This December, Cho will be graduating with a degree in art therapy, according to Pittsburgh Current. After graduation, she plans on continuing with her bake therapy research. She will also be busy promoting her book and planning to open a bakery cafe space soon.

Feature Image via Instagram/helloyummyholic

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