Words of Encouragment : How To Make Fortune Cookies

Today while driving it dawned on me that graduation season is upon us. I was trying to think of some creative ways to encourage not only graduates but anyone and everyone. For some strange reason fortune cookies popped into my head. The more I thought about it, the more I really liked the idea of making my own fortune cookies and filling them with words of encouragement. Seriously have you listened to the news lately? People need to be encouraged because we are living in crazy times. Then I thought it would be a great idea to write messages of affirmation as well. I had images of my kids cracking open a cookie at school during lunch and reading a personalized message of love from me. They would totally dig that! My oldest daughter loves notes from me in her lunch pail so a fortune cookie stuffed with one would really make her day.

So I printed some motivation quotes as well as some personal ones and was ready to make fortune cookies (or should I say, encouragement cookies) for the first time. After reading several articles online on how to make fortune cookies I thought I could tweak some of the preparation methods. This was not a good idea. Particularly the part about greasing a cookie sheet with butter.

Since I always bake with parchment paper I initially used it for my first batch. VERY BAD IDEA. The cookie stuck to the paper as you can see in the 3rd picture below. The second batch I greased the cookie sheet with butter and the results were much better. For my third batch I used non-stick spray and let me tell you, non stick-spray is the way to go.

The recipe is fairly simple. However baking and folding them are completely another matter. So here are some practical tips for making fortune cookies.
1. Use non-stick spray
2. Only bake 2 cookies a time. Because you have only a few seconds from the time you take them out of the oven and when they start to harden. By baking just 2, you can quickly remove the cookies from the cookie sheet, add your message, fold your cookies and store.
3. Don’t skip tips #1 and #2.

Now for the recipe:
Fortune Cookie Recipe
Adapted from Allrecipes.com
Makes 6 cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 egg white
1 tablespoon of water
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
6 Encouragement strips 4″ x 1/2″

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and coat a cookie sheet with non stick spray. In a small bowl mix the egg white and vanilla until foamy but not stiff. Add flour, salt, sugar, and water to the bowl and mix until completely incorporated.

Drop 1 tbs. of batter unto cookie sheet. Using the back of a spoon, make circular motions on top of the batter until you get a 3.5″ circle. Make sure batter is as even as possible. Bake cookies for 7 minutes until edges turn golden brown.

Loosen cookies with an offset spatula quickly, place a note inside the cookie and fold half the cookie onto itself. Using the lip of a mug, fold the cookie straight down the middle with the seam side of the cookie pointing up. Allow them to cool before removing and serving. Enjoy!