Sweetheart Fortune Cookies - Recipe for Romance
An Edible "I Love You" for Valentine's Day
They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but let's face it, some guys just don't get a subtle message. Men need it spelled out... like a recipe, you might say. How about sending your love notes in both sweets and sweet words this Valentine's Day?
Homemade, customized, "just for you" Sweetheart Fortune Cookies speak to the body and the soul(mate) with personalized messages you tuck into clever treats that show how much you care.
Here, as well as my own recipe you can use to make your own homemade fortune cookies, I've rounded up a really good video to show you how it's done. I've also got a few baking tips to help you along, and some ideas for finding the best romantic quotes to get your message scross, just in case you're one of those tongue-tied shy lovers who struggles to find your own words. Let your tasty baking skills do the talking for you - True Love never had it so tasty!
Three Ingredients for Sweet Romance
- Fresh, crisp Fortune Cookies - preferably homemade by your own loving hands.
- A personalized message of love with a special meaning for your beau. Or, maybe, a nicely naughty prediction of how the evening might unfold?
- An appropriately romantic setting in which to serve your man these special treats. With champagne by candlelight? While you're strolling under the stars? Middle of third period of the hockey game, when his home team's winning? ... Well, you're the one who knows your sweetheart best, so I'll leave the place and time up to you!
Get your custom messages ready ahead of time with your chosen words written or printed on slim slips of paper. You don't need a template, just a long skinny rectangle shape you can easily mark off with a ruler or straight edge. For size, each slip of paper should be about 1/4 to 1/3 inch wide by about 3 1/2 or 4 inches long.
Now, on to the kitchen!
Preheat your oven to 350°F, and spray 2 small baking sheets with cooking oil. It's important to use 2 pans as you'll want to let each pan cool down and then re-grease it again, between each batch, to prevent sticking.
Note: If this is your first try at baking your own Fortune Cookies, mix up the whole batch of batter as described below, but start with just 1 or 2 circles of batter at a time. This is because you'll need to work quickly to fold the cookies while they are still hot, and the they will cool down very quickly. Once you get the hang of how to fold them around the paper messages, you can start to put more circles into the oven at one time.
Serving Size
Serves: 12 -14 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp cold water
Instructions
- Whisk the egg whites until they're frothy, then whisk in the vanilla extract, almond extract, and vegetable oil.
- In a second bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cornstarch and salt, then stir in the cold water.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg-white mixture, whisking vigorously until the batter is very smooth.
- Drop a level tablespoon of batter onto a prepared baking sheet, and use the back of a spoon or a small spatula to spread it out into a circle about 31/2 or 4 inches across.
- Several inches away, repeat with another tablespoonful of batter to make a second cookie, and perhaps a third if you're confident about being able to fold them quickly enough.
- Bake 12 to 14 minutes - just until the edges begin to turn a golden colour.
- Use a spatula to remove the cookies one at a time from the baking sheet, and fold them up around the slip of paper with your message (see below for instructions).
- Repeat the process until you've used up all the batter.
First, Whisk the Egg Whites...
The one kitchen gadget that I use almost every day, and can't imagine doing without, is a low-cost but tough little stick blender that doubles as a chopper and a whisk. Yes, absolutely, I do use a hand whisk for a quick froth, say, for example, when making scrambled eggs. But for seriously whisking - like now, when we want to get those egg whites good and frothy - it's hard to beat the Cuisinart Smart Stick.
Tip: Stir a few drops of food coloring into the batter to tint it with a hint of color - try pink or red for Valentine's Day.
Sift the Dry Ingredients...
Yes, when you're making Fortune Cookies, it is well worth sifting the dry ingredients before you mix the batter! But... if you're like I used to be, sometimes you don't want to bother, even when a recipe calls for sifted flour, because it's just a big hassle. I used to use a sieve over a bowl for sifting - now there's a mess waiting to happen! - and my mother has an old hand-crank sifter that you have to take apart to clean. No question, this OXO sifter is a much more sensible design.
Video Tutorial - Watch and Learn How to Make and Fold Fortune Cookies
Here's a cute young guy to show you how to make homemade fortune cookies, step by step. Pay particular attention to the consistency of the batter - see how it's very loose and spreadable? That's what you want. Actually, Max's mixture may be a bit more liquid than mine, perhaps due to a little "oops' with the almond extract... but, these things happen to the best of us! Don't you think Max Rumaner could be a future Famous TV Chef?
Folding Instructions
Wearing cotton gloves to protect your hands from the heat, lay one cookie flat on your hand. (This will go better if you flip the cookie upside-down from how it was sitting on the baking sheet - the side that was against the pan will now be facing up as it sits on your hand.)
Fold it in half around one of your pre-printed paper slips and press the edges together. Work quickly, so it won't cool down and crack! This gives you a half-moon shape with the message hidden inside, just sticking out a bit at each end.
Lay the folded, straight edge of the cookie across the handle of a wooden spoon (or the lip of a cup or bowl - your choice) and press the tips gently downward and together, to form the traditional triangular shape.
Set each one into a muffin pan cup, to help it to hold its shape while it cools and hardens, while you quickly move on to folding the next.
Finding it hard to picture exactly how to do this? No problem! Have another look at the video above- Max Rumaner walks you through the whole process.
Avoid a Sticky Situation - Try a SlickMat baking mat
For best results, it's important to make sure your baking sheet is cool when you start laying out your circles of batter, so that means pulling at least two pan into play and rotating between them. Maybe three, if you're getting fast at your folding technique so the pans don't get a chance to cool down.
Two of my baking sheets are (sigh!) the wonderful Paderno, and I can count on them to give me a good result every time. My third one? Not so much... That third pan is so old, I think there's part of Methusaleh's goat baked into the corners, and even a heavy greasing won't keep baked goods from sticking. But it's a good heavy baking sheet (the kind it's hard to get these days without paying a mint) and still far too good to get rid of, so I've started lining it with a silicone mat when needed.
