Baking Fortunes

So this year, the Chinese New Year of the Dragon, you could consider making fortune cookies and inserting a few funny messages for family and friends (if you’re stuck try this website for suggestions here).  They are surprisingly easy to make (the recipe), but adults need to be on hand for the final act.

Ingredients

Makes 16 cookies
Fortunes written on strips of paper
2 egg whites
75g plain flour, sifted
115g caster sugar
½ tsp almond essence
½ tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp water
Pinch salt
Baking tray or silicone baking mat
Greaseproof paper

1. Position an oven rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 200C/Gas 6. Cover a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2. In a medium bowl whisk the egg whites until foamy with soft peaks. Add the flour, sugar, almond and vanilla essence, water and salt to the egg whites and beat until smooth, about 30 seconds.

3. Spoon 1 tbsp of batter onto the covered baking tray and spread it with the back of a spoon into a very thin 10cm circle.* Tip: For beginners, make only 2 cookies per sheet at a time until you have really practiced and got speedier.

4. Bake the cookies on the middle rack of the oven until golden brown around edges, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and, working very quickly, remove the cookie with a spatula and place a fortune in the centre.

5. Adults: whilst still hot, fold the cookie to create a half circle. Bend the pointed edges of the cookie toward each other. This should all be done quickly since the cookie will become hard and brittle within 10 seconds. Leave to cool.

*Get your children involved by having them draw circles on the greaseproof paper before you start baking. They can use mugs or yogurt pots to trace the shape.

The video below doesn’t follow our exact recipe, but it gives you a good idea of the process and some great tips:
Homemade fortune cookies