They taste so much better than the pre-packaged ones, and writing your own fortunes is quite entertaining. I wrote holiday fortunes for my boss, as the cookies were for a Christmas party. The technique is easy also, once you get the hang of it. I made a three inch round stencil out of a thick plastic. Then I just spread the tuille batter over it, and baked them at 375 for about 6 minutes total. A great tip a teacher shared with me was to par bake them first. Don't let them get any color (2-3 minutes), then take them out of the oven and let them cool completely. When you put them back in the oven, they will brown completely evenly.
Vanilla Cardamom Fortune Cookies:
1.95 oz. all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 each egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1/2 vanilla bean)
Chocolate Ginger Fortune Cookies:
1.5 oz. all purpose flour
.45 oz cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 each egg whites
1. Sift together dry ingredients.
2. Whip egg whites until slightly foamy. Add to flour mixture and mix well (do not over-mix, it will get air bubbles in it)
3. Scrape bowl carefully, add vanilla if applicable.
4. Prepare pans. Each pan needs either a greased piece of parchment paper or a silpat (the slipat works wonderfully).
5. Use a tablespoon or small spoon to heap batter onto pan. Start with two cookies, you can increase it after you get the hang of it.
6. Spread the batter thin, using the template helps, but if not, use the back of the spoon in a circular motion to create a thin circle of batter.
7. Bake in a 375 degree oven (if using the par-baking method, bake for 2 minutes at first, let cool, then bake for an additional 3-4 minutes) for 6-7 minutes.
8. While still hot, loosen tuile from silpat/parchment with a small offset spatula. Place a fortune in the center.
9. Fold in half, but do not press sides together. Then, fold it in half again. By not pressing the sides together, you'll get the nice full-looking structure.
10. Set inside a muffin pan. This will keep it's shape while it cools.
11. When cool, store in an airtight container.
My favorite fortune I've ever received: "Happiness will come in a circular motion..."
Wait...what? I'd much rather write them myself!
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