Homemade Fortune Cookies

Homemade Fortune Cookies are fun, crispy, and light cookies that are not at all difficult to make once you get the hang of it. Confuscious say... "Make some today!"

*Disclaimer - This recipe was originally published in 2013. I'm working hard to update all my older recipes with recipe cards, new photos, and additional recipe information. But, getting to all of them will take time. Please bear with me. In the meantime let me assure you that this recipe is still a winner and one I'm sure you'll be well pleased with when you make it at home.

In honor of tomorrow being the start of the Chinese new year, I see fortune cookies in your future.

Homemade fortune cookies are really simple to make if you follow a few easy steps and don't get too ahead of yourself. 

I found making homemade fortune cookies to be slightly time-consuming because you can only bake about two at a time.

That said, don't forget to plan ahead and make these on a day when you have some extra time to spend in the kitchen!

I think these would also be extra cute for Valentine's Day if you added some adorable fortunes of love to the inside.

Plus, you can dip half the cookie in some melted chocolate and then add some red and pink sprinkles to really add some pizzazz to the whole Valentine's Day theme.

Your special Valentine will LOVE you for it!

FORTUNE COOKIES - makes approximately 36 cookies     {PRINT THIS RECIPE}

3 egg whites
¾ cup sugar
½ cup butter, melted and cooled
½ teaspoon almond extract
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons water
1 - 2 empty coffee mugs or high-sided bowls.
1 empty muffin tin

-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
-Assemble your fortunes (I went online and printed a bunch of Confucius sayings but you can easily make up your own fortunes too. Just print and cut them into strips and you're ready to add them to the cookies.)
-Lightly grease a cookies sheet.
-In a large bowl, whip the egg whites and sugar on high speed until they are frothy (about 3 minutes).
-Reduce the speed to low and add the butter, almond extract, and vanilla.
-Slowly add the flour and the water and continue beating until there are no lumps. (The consistency should resemble a slightly runny pancake batter).
-Spoon the batter onto the greased cookie sheet (two at a time) into 3" circles. (After you've practiced this enough, you'll probably be able to do more than 2 at a time. I however stuck to doing two at a time)
-Bake for 5-7 minutes or until the edges of the cookie just start to turn brown.
-Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and loosen the cookie from the sheet using an offset spatula or pancake turner.
-While the cookies are still hot from the oven, (you may wish to wear some light cotton gloves to protect your fingers from the heat), place your fortune-of-choice slightly off-center to the middle of the cookie and quickly fold the cookie in half.
-From there you drape the folded cookie over the side of the empty coffee mug or bowl, pressing the pointed edges down to form the traditional fortune cookie shape.
-Remove your cookie from the cup while it is still warm and place it into a muffin tin so it retains its shape until it cools completely.
-Continue with the remaining batter and fortunes.

It took me a while to get the hang of making the shape of the cookies until I found the coffee mug tip on YouTube.

I was having the hardest time trying to get the traditional shape of the cookies and was almost ready to throw in the towel.

Confucius say "When the going gets tough, rely on YouTube for instruction!" LOL

Once they're completely cooled, you're ready to dip your cookies in chocolate and sprinkles (optional, yet delicious), and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet until the chocolate has set.

Serve and enjoy...

Have a happy Chinese new year everybody and keep an eye out for those snakes!!!