It’s January which means it’s obviously time to lay off the baked goods. The problem is… I read about a 25-year old recipe for Tutu’s crispy sugar cookies.

Tutu’s Super-Crispy Sugar Cookies via Food & Wine { view full recipe }

When I lived on the island of Hawaii, every Sunday I would buy cookies at the farmers’ market from an elderly woman everyone called Tutu, or “Grandmother.” She would sell only one bag per person until she ran out, which took about 30 minutes. Before I moved away, I asked her for the recipe. She gave it to me on the condition that I couldn’t share it with anyone for 25 years. Time has passed, and now I’d like to share it with your readers.
—Letter to the Editor by Charlie Griggs; Hoodsport, WA.

Hawaii folks take their cookies seriously, especially on the Big Island. From the well-marketed, hand-dipped shortbread cookies of Big Island Candies (only sold in my mom’s hometown of Hilo or online) to the even better, homey Donna’s Cookies of Paauilo (the remote Hamakua Coast town of maternal great-grandmother). The challenge with Donna’s Cookies is they are not available online! We rely on family members to ship ours out at regular intervals throughout the year.

So I followed Tutu’s recipe and my batch turned out more like shortbread (sugar cookie may be misleading to some readers), but there is no question the results are delicious. This recipe calls for Rice Krispies, but now I remember my favorite cookies from Hawaii featured crushed cornflakes. Stay tuned, this requires further investigation.