One of the big-time benefits to living in the great city of Chicago is the vast array of cuisines that are at our fingertips. It doesn’t take much to happen upon authentic food offerings from a variety of countries. Among the authentic food joints though, you also stumble upon a plethora of “Americanized” ethnic cuisines. Americanized food often gets a bad rap for altering foods that shouldn’t have been tampered with and were great in their original form. While I join forces with this camp of thinking the majority of the time, I also have come to appreciate a couple foods that don’t truly hail from their claimed countries of origin.
One such good thing to come from the Americanization of ethnic foods is the fortune cookie. While fortune cookies are not a tradition in authentic Chinese cuisine, they have become a popular after dinner treat at most Chinese restaurants within the U.S. The philosophical fortunes bring about a nice moment of ponderance and can spark some nice post-meal discussions as well. As it turns out, fortune cookies are much easier to make than you might think! They can serve as a fun and creative way to share a playful note with dinner guests or as a unique, homemade gift for a friend. Check out the recipe and video below to help you successfully navigate the fortune cookie-making process!
Fortune Cookies
3 egg whites
¾ granulated sugar (or caster sugar)
½ cup butter, melted & cooled
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract (optional)
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup all-purpose flour
Water as needed (approximately 6 Tbsp)
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a half sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or grease the pan with a heavy coating of cooking spray. Have the fortunes prepped in advance on small strips of paper (approximately 1/2 inch x 3 inches).
- In a large bowl, whip the egg whites and sugar until foamy. Whisk in the melted butter and vanilla extract. Once incorporated, then whisk in the salt and flour all at once. The consistency should resemble pancake batter. If the batter is too thick, whisk in one tablespoon of water at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- Using a spoon, pour out 4 circles of the batter onto your half sheet pan. Use the back of the spoon to move the batter in concentric circles to spread and shape. The circles should be about 3 inches in diameter after the batter has spread, and should be poured just thick enough that you can’t see through the batter to the sheet pan.
- Bake for 5-8 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown by about ½ inch in. While the cookies bake, make sure you have a small offset spatula, a coffee cup, the fortune paper strips, and your oven mitts ready to go.
- Once the fortune cookies come out of the oven, you will need to work quickly while the cookies are still hot and malleable. Place the fortune in the center of the cookie. Using the offset spatula, work the bottom half of the cookie loose from the tray and fold it to meet the top half, making sure the fortune stays tucked. Using the spatula, remove the folded cookie from the tray. Pinch both ends of the cookie and press the center of the bottom over the edge of the coffee cup or on the side of the sheet pan. Hold in place until the cookie holds its shape. The cookies can either be enjoyed immediately, or can be left out to cool further for a crunchier cookie. This recipe yields approximately 42 cookies.
For a more traditional take on some Chinese delights, join us for The Chopping Block’s Dim Sum.
