A fortune cookie is one of those recognizable shapes from small-kid time, when I was always more excited about the fortune than the cookie. In all my years of baking I’ve never thought about making one, assuming it would be too complicated.
Global Grub’s Fortune Cookie Kit has shown me how simple it is to achieve the widely known shape. The kit is so easy to use that my cousin’s 5-year-old daughter, Leila, did most of the work. The only thing she couldn’t do was handle the cookies hot out of the oven, when they must be quickly shaped. My Auntie Linda and I did that part.
A minor down side was using the oven for only two or four cookies at a time. A toaster oven would probably be more energy efficient, or if you have a big household, everyone could help with the shaping, so more cookies could go into the oven at once. You’d need to create extra baking sheets (the kit comes with just one) but all that involves is copying circles onto parchment.
Also, these cookies are paler than the local ones that come in those big tubs. They’re more like what you’d get at a Panda Express.
THE PRODUCT
Global Grub’s Fortune Cookie Kit offers almost everything needed to make 40 cookies, including a packet of cocoa powder to make 10 chocolate-flavored cookies. You’ll need to add egg whites, salt and flavoring extract.
COST AND AVAILABILITY
$37.10 (includes taxes and $7.99 shipping) at globalgrub.com; $48.02 (includes taxes and $17.95 shipping) at uncommongoods.com; and $69.99 (free shipping) at amazon.com
HOW IT WORKS
1. Combine the kit’s flour and sugar with a pinch of salt in one bowl. An egg white and extract go in another bowl.
2. Whisk the egg mixture into the dry ingredients until the batter falls like a ribbon.
3. Pour 1-1/2 teaspoons of batter into each circle marked on the included baking mat. Spread evenly within the circles.
4. Get your fortunes ready. The kit includes preprinted messages and an edible ink pen to write your own.
5. Speed is essential to fold the cookies or they will crack. The instructions say to flip the cookies over, but my aunt and I decided that step wasn’t necessary.
6. Instead, quickly place a fortune in the center of a cookie and fold in half so the edges touch, then …
7. Place over the rim of a cup and pull down the corners to shape it. Cool in a muffin tin to set the shape.
DOES IT WORK?
Yes, it’s a good starting-off point to fortune-cookie making. In fact, this kit makes it so easy, I’m inspired to try different sizes and flavors (The kit comes with cocoa powder to make a batch of chocolate cookies and I recently found ube flavoring that I must try, too.). Or maybe I’ll try fillings — candy can fall out when a cookie is cracked or a present could be hidden inside. And Leila enjoyed drawing and writing the fortunes in addition to picking ones from the variety offered.
Note: Wilton’s Correct Cut Printed Parchment Paper offers a variety of circle sizes to play with. It will just take a little practice perfecting the baking times.
Got a gadget that you love? Curious about one you’d like us to test? Email crave@staradvertiser.com or write Crave,Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813.
