MEDIA RELEASE

Back by popular demand, cookbook author Jean Watanabe Hee has collected 150 new mouth-watering, delectable desserts that have been passed on by friends and family, handed down from generation to generation, and shared at potlucks, picnics, and celebrations.

This is her eighth book in the Hawaii’s Best series of cookbooks that have delighted local families since her first cookbook, Hawaii’s Best Mochi Recipes was released in 2000.

More than 80,000 copies of her first dessert book, Hawaii’s Best Local Desserts, have sold since it’s first release in 2001. Now, over a decade later, it’s time to share new desserts with Hawaii’s home cooks.

Here are easy-to-prepare desserts and elegant, made-from-scratch masterpieces, most with an island flavor.

Local favorites include: Chocolate Haupia Pie, Furikake Arare Cookies, and Hawaiian Pineapple Mango Bread. And of course there are decadent treats such as: Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake, Cream Puff Cake, and Triple Chocolate Cake.

There are also recipes that fit our current busier lifestyle with directions easier than ever to follow. And for those who have the time there are homestyle recipes that you make from scratch if you have some extra time on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Born in Hilo, Hee was raised in Amauulu Camp 1, a sugar plantation surrounded by cane fields. It no longer exists, but she has happy memories of all the loving and caring people there, many of whom still keep in touch with her.

Hee graduated from Hilo High School in 1957, then from the University of Hawaii in 1961 with a degree in elementary education. She retired from teaching when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998.

After a mastectomy and chemotherapy, she regained her health and at the encouragement of her sister-in-law, Evelyn Hee, put together her first cookbook, Hawaii’s Best Mochi Recipes, in 2000 which began her series of Hawaii’s Best cookbooks.

Besides cooking and baking, Hee enjoys traveling, gardening, and spending time with family and friends.

* 6 x 9 in., softcover wire-o • 162 pages • $15.95

— Find out more:
www.mutualpublishing.com