Fortune Cookies

It’s easy to take fortune cookies for granted. These golden, plastic-wrapped cookies come with the check at a Chinese restaurant, live at the bottom of the takeout bag and hide, forgotten, stuffed in a kitchen drawer. We love them for their mysterious fortunes, but their flavor? Eh, it’s fine. But that changes now, because our easy fortune cookie recipe makes crisp, fortune-stuffed cookies that are fun and delicious.

The best part? These homemade fortune cookies hide paper fortunes created by you, making them the perfect personalized treats for birthdays, retirement parties, baby showers and more.

How to Make Fortune Cookies

Making fortune cookies isn’t as difficult as it seems, and understanding the potential pitfalls will help to ensure a successful batch. First, you need a few essential baking supplies, ones you most likely already have in your kitchen: parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat (one with circles already drawn on is even better); an icing spatula to smooth out the batter and remove and fold the hot cookies; and a muffin tin, which you need to help keep the shape of the cookies as they cool.

The simple batter has just five ingredients, including vanilla extract, which gives the cookies its flavor. The cookie batter should be very thin so that once baked, the cookies fold without cracking. You bake them until the edges are slightly brown yet flexible enough to fold. Finally, you must shape the cookies while they’re still hot. If allowed to cool, the cookies will break when you try to fold and bend them. To make this easier, our recipe for fortune cookies bakes only two cookies at a time. After the first couple of cookies, you’ll have the hang of it, and the rest will be easy peasy.

Fortune Cookie Recipe Ingredients

• Softened butter: Use the best butter you can, salted or unsalted. Most importantly, you need soft butter to blend smoothly into the batter.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar is the best choice here. Just three tablespoons give the cookies their light sweetness.
• Egg white: This recipe uses the white from one large egg. Use the leftover yolk for other dishes, like lemon curd or custard.
• Vanilla extract: Choose a quality vanilla extract here; the cookies are so simple that the flavor really stands out!
• Flour: All-purpose flour is fine for fortune cookies. The recipe requires just enough to combine the ingredients into a sticky, not-too-thick batter.

Directions

Step 1: Write the fortunes

Cut a piece of plain paper into strips 3-1/2 inches long and a 1/4-inch wide—you’ll need 10. Use a bleed-proof pen to write fortunes on each strip of paper. You can fold them in half or leave them long. Set these aside.

Editor’s Tip: Have fun and tailor the fortunes to the people or events you’re making them for! Write silly, mysterious or inspirational fortunes, lucky numbers or personal messages. For kids, write jokes with the answers on the back, or quotes from their favorite movies.

Step 2: Prepare the baking sheet and workspace

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a pencil to draw two 3-1/2-inch circles on the parchment. Flip the parchment over so the pencil side is down and the circles are still visible. Set the baking sheet aside.

Editor’s Tip: Use a 3-1/2-inch round cookie cutter or glass to get perfect circles. Now is an excellent time to prepare your workspace, which should be big enough to hold the batter, baking sheet, icing spatula, paper fortunes, muffin tin and a drinking glass. It’s a fast process, and proper setup is critical to success in fortune cookie-making.

Step 3: Make the batter

In a small bowl, beat the soft butter, sugar, egg white and vanilla extract. Add the flour and mix until you have a smooth batter.

Editor’s Tip: Whisk the batter by hand to prevent large air bubbles from forming.

Step 4: Bake the cookies

Spread 1 tablespoon batter over each circle. Bake for four to five minutes or until the cookie edges lightly brown.

Editor’s Tip: Use the back of a spoon to spread the batter into a thin, smooth layer that fills the circle.

Step 5: Add the fortunes

Slide the parchment with the cookies off the baking sheet and onto your workspace. Lay a clean kitchen towel over one of the cookies. Working quickly, place a fortune in the center of the other cookie. Use a thin spatula to loosen one edge of the cookie from the parchment. Fold cookie in half over the fortune strip so that the edges meet, then hold the edges together for three seconds.

Step 6: Shape and cool

Place the center of the cookie over the rim of a glass and gently press the ends down to bend the cookie in middle (it will now have the shape of a classic fortune cookie, which almost looks like an upside-down Pac-Man). Cool the cookie for one minute before transferring it to a wire rack. Repeat with second cookie.

If the cookies become too cool to fold, return them to the oven to soften them for one minute. Repeat with remaining batter and fortunes.

Editor’s Tip: This is where the muffin tin helps. Once you bend the cookie over the glass, lay it in the well of the muffin pan to cool; the cookies will hold their shape better. Also, be prepared for the cookies to be hot! There’s no getting around this; they must be shaped right out of the oven. Disposable gloves can help make them easier to hold.

Fortune Cookies Variations

• Try different flavors: Replace the vanilla with extract flavors like orange, lemon, almond or anise.
• Color them: Stir a few drops of food coloring into the batter in the bowl. To add more than one color, divide the batter between bowls and add different colors to each one.
• Add a decorative touch: Transfer a small amount of batter to a separate bowl and add a few drops of food coloring to tint it. Spoon it into a piping bag with a tiny tip. Once you spread batter circles on the parchment paper, pipe little dots of tinted batter onto each circle. Drag a toothpick through each dot to make hearts or swirls.
• Make dipped fortune cookies: Once the cookies are cool, dip the edges in melted semisweet or white chocolate. Before the chocolate sets, you can add crushed nuts, shredded coconut, sprinkles or edible cake decorations.

How to Store Fortune Cookies

To keep your fortune cookies crispy, store them in a tightly sealed airtight container. To make them last, avoid common cookie storage mistakes like storing them while warm or crushing them.

How long do fortune cookies last?

For the best flavor and texture, fortune cookies should be eaten within four to five days.

Can you freeze fortune cookies?

Yes! Once the cookies have completely cooled, transfer them to a freezer-proof container or bag and seal it tightly. Store fortune cookies in the freezer for up to three months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator before serving.

Fortune Cookie Tips

Can you crisp up soft fortune cookies?

Even when baked and cooled correctly, fortune cookies can still feel a little soft on humid days, after freezing and thawing, or after sitting around for a bit. To fix this, spread the cookies on a baking sheet and pop them in a low oven (about 200°) for a few minutes. Let them cool first before eating them to crisp them up.

How do you get a fortune in homemade fortune cookies?

One of life’s greatest mysteries—solved! Because pieces of paper can’t go into the oven, you place the paper fortunes on top of the thin, baked cookies. Then, you fold the cookies around the fortunes. Once the cookie cools, the crisp cookie shape holds the fortune inside until someone cracks it open.

Why do restaurant fortune cookies last so long?

Those fortune cookies with your Chinese takeout have preservatives and come individually wrapped in plastic to give them a long shelf life. Homemade fortune cookies won’t last as long, but that’s an okay trade-off. As is usually true of home-baked treats, homemade fortune cookies taste infinitely better than commercially produced ones. Plus, you get to customize the fortunes that go inside. They make the perfect ending to a home-spun takeout meal of favorite Chinese chicken recipes.