How To Make Fortune Cookies From Scratch (with Paper Inside)
Course: Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine: Asian Fusion
Prep Time: 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 50 minutesminutes
Total Time: 1 hourhour20 minutesminutes
Servings: 10cookies (depending on the size)
Calories: 78kcal
Author: Marvellina
Learn how to make the best homemade fortune cookies with personalized messages inside the cookies. It's going to be a conversation piece in any occasion you celebrate
This is quite labor intensive as you can only do 2 at a time. If you have someone to help you, that would be the ideal scenario
You can also draw two 4-inch circles on parchment paper to be used as a template and put this underneath a silicone mat to help you make cookies with consistent size
If you don't have caster sugar, put regular granulated sugar in a food processor or blender and process until they are fine in texture
Prepare cookie batter:
Preheat oven to 340 F (170C) for a conventional oven. For a convection oven, lower by 20 F or 15 C. Mix matcha with water into a paste. Set aside
Place egg whites in mixing bowl. Use a mixer or a balloon whisk to beat the egg whites until frothy. Just frothy, don't beat it until stiff, we are not making chiffon cake or French macarons ;)
Add sugar, vanilla extract, oil, and all the flour/starches into the egg whites. Stir just until the flour disappears and the batter is smooth, do not overmix as this will make your cookies chewy and tough. The batter is semi-thin and spreadable
Baking:
Get your spatula, fortune messages, and a cup or bowl ready near you. Line your baking sheet with a silicone mat and slip the template that you make (if you make one that is). Scoop about 2 teaspoonfuls of the batter and use the back of a spoon or an offset spatula to spread it out evenly into about a 4-inch circle. You don't want it too thick or too thin. Too thick and your cookies will be chewy in the middle, too thin and it breaks easily. Repeat with another one. You have two. Remove the template if you use
Place this in the oven and set the timer (digital timer if possible) to 9 minutes. This is just an estimated time. If your cookies are smaller or thinner you may need less than 9 minutes. If you see the edge has golden brown color but the middle are still pale, the cookies are ready. If they are still pale all over, let them bake maybe an extra 1 minute and then take a look again
Shaping:
Get them out of the oven and quickly grab an offset spatula and run through the edge to loosen it up and turn the cookie upside down so the smooth side is facing down now. Loosely fold it in half to form a semicircle and quickly insert the fortune you've written. Place the straight part of the semicircle at the edge of a cup or bowl and gently fold it down to form a fortune cookie shape
Place this inside a muffin tin to help hold its shape. Quickly repeat with the other one. Now do you see why I recommend not doing more than 2 ? You will drive yourself crazy if you do :)
Continue baking with another set of two cookies:
Your baking sheet most likely is still warm from previous baking, but I found that this is not an issue as long as it's not too hot. Let it cool down for about 5 minutes before working on the next batch
Melt some chocolate (if you want to):
Once you are done with all the cookies, bring a small pot of water to a boil and then set a bowl large enough to sit on top of the pot and lower the heat to simmer. The chocolate will slowly melt
Decorate:
Only decorate the cookies after they have cooled down completely. Dip the cookies in the chocolate, decorate with sprinkles and/or sesame seeds and then place on a cooling rack lined with parchment paper to let the chocolate set and solidify
How to store:
Let them cool down completely and then store in air-tight container. They can stay crispy for about 2-3 days