Fortune Cookies

The fortune cookie is complex, in both process and pedigree. A similar, predecessor cookie, if you will, was served at temples in ancient Japan before Japanese immigrants brought the modern version of the cookie to the U.S. in the 19th century. Magoto Hagiwara is credited as being the first person to serve these cookies to Americans at Golden Gate Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco. Then, in the wake of Pearl Harbor bombings, as Japanese immigrants were forced into internment camps, many of these businesses that brought this beloved cookie to America began to close. Soon after, Chinese American restauranteurs adopted the cookie, making it forever synonymous with Chinese American cuisine.

With a history so intricate, it’s no surprise that the recipe for this cookie is also quite involved. It may not require any special ingredients, but it does require meticulous planning, timeliness, and bit of trial and error. Below, you’ll find some key tips to keep in mind as you approach this recipe:

1. Stop mixing the batter once the flour is incorporated. Overmixing will form gluten in the batter, which prevents it from being crispy. If you do overmix (it’ll be difficult to spread on the silpat), just add some water—1 tablespoon at a time—until in reaches a crêpe batter-like consistency.
2. Silpat is the most reliable way to make perfectly crisp and golden brown fortune cookies. Some recipes suggest using high-quality parchment instead of your everyday stuff, but those are pretty much the same price as silpat. So you’re better off purchasing something reusable rather than expensive parchment that you’ll just end up throwing away.
3. Only make 2 cookies at once and watch them like a hawk while they’re in the oven. The cookies are ready once they're golden brown about halfway around the edges. They will continue to bake once out of the oven thanks to carry-over cooking, so be sure to not let them brown too much.
4. Once they're out of the oven, the period of malleability is very short so you’ll need to work fast. Wear gloves if necessary!
5. Embrace trial and error! Making fortune cookies is a bit of a science experiment. You’ll likely fail a few times (or for two hours, like me), before you get them right.