Delicious Fortune Cookies

Fortune cookies aren’t actually Chinese (they were invented in California by Japanese immigrants in the early 1900s), but they’ve become an inseparable part of the American Chinese-restaurant experience. Making them at home is more party project than baking recipe; everyone gets to write their own fortunes for the table.

The batter is simple: cake flour for tenderness, cornstarch for crispness, egg white for binding, and just enough oil and water to spread into thin discs. Pour a tablespoon onto a lightly greased skillet and spread into a 3 ½-inch circle with the back of a spoon.

The folding is the part that requires hustle. Once you flip the cooked wafer onto a potholder, you have about 15 seconds before it cools and snaps. Drop the fortune in the center, fold in half over the paper, then bend over the edge of a bowl or muffin tin to create that signature crescent crease.

Cool in a muffin pan to hold the shape until set.

Pro Tips

• Make only one cookie at a time at first; the speed required to fold while the wafer is hot doesn’t allow batch cooking until you’ve practiced
• Print fortunes on regular paper cut into small strips with inks that don’t bleed when warm; food-safe edible paper is also an option
• Wear thin gloves if the heat is too much for bare fingers; the wafers cool fast but the first second straight out of the pan is hot
• Keep extra batter at room temperature; refrigerated batter doesn’t spread evenly on the griddle

Variations

• Add a quarter teaspoon of almond or vanilla extract to the batter for a flavored cookie
• Stir in a pinch of cocoa powder for chocolate fortune cookies
• Dip half of each cooled cookie in melted chocolate for a fancier finish