Sometimes you just gotta take matters into your own hands.
So far, 2010 is shaping up to be a very good year. Well, with the exception of one very scary close call.
Recently, I went out to dinner with a few good friends at one of my favorite Chinese restaurants. It was a great meal. But to me the best part of going to a Chinese restaurant is the fortune cookie at the end of dinner. Each of my friends took turns reading our fortunes out loud. It’s a contest on who has the silliest and most vague fortune of the group.
It’s usually a fun exercise. As we went around the table reading the fortunes out loud we came across the typical forecasts about future wealth and good times ahead. And then it was my turn. I was puzzled by my message, “You already know what lies ahead. Face it with strength.” I looked up at my friends with shock across my face, “Huh? What the hell is this?” I mean, that didn’t sound good.
A few days had past and I was still a bit annoyed (if not a little spooked) by my fortune. What did it mean? Was it a prediction of bad times on the horizon. I had a decision to make. I could sit by and do nothing or I could take the reins and head off my impending doom. I mean, I’m not a superstitious person but why take the chance, right? I knew actually what I needed to do. I would have to cancel out the last fortune cookie with a new one.
But this time I was leaving nothing to chance. I would make my own fortune cookies and stack the deck in my favor with self serving predictions of good fortunes.
Plus, I thought it would be kind of fun to make my own fortune cookies.
A quick web search gave me a boatload of super easy recipes to work with.
I picked one and almost immediately got to work. I just made a few minor tweaks. I decreased the amount of almond extract and incorporated lemon zest to give the cookies a little zip (I usually taste a bit of citrus in the restaurant cookies).
In the end, these cookies could be one of my favorite recipe discoveries since starting the Ceramic Canvas. They’re fun and super easy to make.
I think they’d be cool for parties – a really fun conversation starter.
Cheers!
NOTE: I have step-by-step photographs of how to fold the fortune cookies. I’ll try and post them soon.
NOTE 2: If after cooking and folding the cookies the centers are still soft and pliable you can pop the folded cookies back into the oven for a minute or two to let them harden. Just be careful not to leave the cookies in the oven for too long or they will turn dark brown and/or burn.
FORTUNE COOKIES
2 large egg whites
½ TSP pure vanilla extract
¼ TSP pure almond extract
1 TSP lemon zest
3 TBL vegetable oil
8 TBL all-purpose flour
1½ TSP cornstarch
¼ TSP kosher salt
8 TBL granulated sugar
3 TSP water
Write fortunes on pieces of paper that are 3 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 9-X-13 inch baking sheets.
In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg white, vanilla extract, almond extract, lemon zest and vegetable oil until frothy, but not stiff.
Sift the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar into a separate bowl. Stir the water into the flour mixture.
Add the flour into the egg white mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter. The batter should not be runny, but should drop easily off a wooden spoon.
Place level tablespoons of batter onto the cookie sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. Gently use the back of the back of a spoon to make circular motions on the surface of the batter to form circles with about 3.5” diameters.
Bake until the outer 1/2-inch of each cookie turns golden brown and they are easy to remove from the baking sheet with a spatula (14 – 15 minutes).
Working quickly, remove the cookie with a spatula and flip it over in your hand. Place a fortune in the middle of a cookie. To form the fortune cookie shape, fold the cookie in half, then gently pull the edges downward over the rim of a glass, wooden spoon or the edge of a muffin tin. Place the finished cookie in the cup of the muffin tin so that it keeps its shape. Continue with the rest of the cookies.
Makes about 14 cookies.
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I’m sure restaurant fortune cookies never tasted so good. I must try these.
I had to laugh a little because I’ve had my share of troublesome fortunes in those little cookies at restaurants than I care to keep track of! Making homemade (positive) fortunes is a great idea! I had no idea how they were made, thanks for sharing this!
How cool are these…I am so going to try them. I love that the messages can be way more fun than the ones you get in the prefab cookies. Thanks for sharing.
I am so mezmerized by your photography! What camera do you use? Fabulous!
PHYLLIS: Thanks. The homemade version actually taste like real cookies. As oppose to the restaurant version which sometimes have the taste of raw flour.
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JENNIFER: I was happily surprised by how easy they were to make.
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DAWN: Thank you. Let us know how they turn out for you.
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ZEN BAKER: Thanks. I use a a Canon 40D (http://bit.ly/bXGDwT) with a Sigma 50mm 1:2.8 lens (http://bit.ly/aw502D). This is the first post that I finally took the camera off of Auto and started tinkering around with the white balance, shutter speed, aperture/F stop and ISO. At some point I’ll get the hang of it…maybe.
I love this idea. What a great thing to do for a party…I’m going to have to try these for sure!
so cool! yours look perfect — i’m so impressed!
Fantastic that you did this. They aren’t something I’d readily consider making at home. Maybe I’ll give them a try now since you have led the way!
Hey, Reginald. Sorry that I won’t be turning my fortune over to you (it’s not much, and I need it), but fortune cookies–great! Don’t know if you’re aware, but Food News Journal has a link to this post on “best of the blogs” today. Congratulations. That’s very cool. Hope all’s well. I’ll be back soon. ~ Allison
oh wow! this is amazing! I have never thought of making fortune cookies on my own. It would be a great activity to do with kids, i think. Thanks for this post!
Hi,
The fortune cookies are great and you can find good recipes at, http://ciaochowlinda.blogspot.com/ it will add to your pleasure. I’ve used this site often.
Rocky
I’M MAKING THEM AS I TYPE!! YUMM I made pink ones!
I can’t wait to start doing this ,i had spent 30mn today into a Chinese store trying to ask them about how to make these cookies from crash but i got no answer .Now i am so happy to have this; thank you so much.
OH blessed your hart.
I don’t know but did you ever use blue agave nectar instead of sugar?
How do you get your text to fit in the space you want? Do you use excel or Word? If so, how?
These are delicious. Much better than the ones you get at the restaurant and much more fun to make as well. My brother and I will spend the evening writing clever fortunes for our friends. =P
Just made these for a Chinese friend’s 21st birthday and wanted to say they’re great! Super yummy and fun to make. Will definitely make this again! Thank you for the recipe!