Fortune Cookies

(makes 20-25)

The first time i had this idea was maybe 5 years ago and i couldn't remember why i had never tried it again... until last weekend when i had already promised to make 40 for church camp! It was a lot of fun, but quite time-consuming because you can only bake 6 at a time as you need to be rather quick and nimble with folding! These weren't the best batch, but i did try the recipe beforehand and it does give that solid fortune-cookie texture! 

My excuse is that big batches are always hard to perfect, and this was one of the times when i was reminded that baking really is quite a precise art. When they say cornflour, they mean cornflour not add flour till it looks right, and when the recipe says 1 tsp, they mean measure it! Nonetheless, a good attempt...

Prep time: 10 min
Cooking time: 1 hr (10-15min per batch)


Ingredients:
2 large egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
3 T vegetable oil
8 T all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
8 T caster sugar
3 1/2 tsp water


Method:
1. Print and cut out the fortunes/messages on pieces of paper that are 7.5cm (3 inches) long and 1.25cm (1/2 inch) wide.
2. Preheat the oven to 150˚C and have a tray with baking paper ready.
3. Beat the egg whites, vanilla extract, almond extract and vegetable oil together until frothy but not stiff.
4. Sift the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar into a separate bowl. Stir the water into the flour mixture
5. Add the flour into the egg white mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter that is not runny, but should drop easily off a wooden spoon.
6. Place 1 T of batter onto the cookie sheet for each cookie, ensuring there is about 5cm between each cookie. Gently tilt the baking sheet back and forth, and side to side so that the batter smooths out into a circle.
NB. You may want to start with just 2 cookies first to get a hang of folding, then move on to making 6 at a time.
7. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the edge of the cookie turns golden brown.
8. Remove the cookie with a spatula (return the tray to the oven whilst making one at a time). Working quickly, place the message in the middle of the cookie and fold it in half, then pull the edges downward over the rim of a glass to form the fortune cookie shape. Leave it in the cup of a muffin tray to harden into the right shape.

9. Continue with the rest of the cookies. You can store them in an air-tight container overnight for 2-3 days. However, if there are some that are a bit soft, they will make the rest of them soft so keep them separate.