Recently I was out having a Chinese dinner with my family and at the end of the meal the waiter brought us a plate full of orange slices and fortune cookies.  I quickly grabbed the cookie closest to me and busted it open to get my fortune. I could see the little piece of paper on the inside of the cookie sparked the interest of my four year old son who is obsessed with reading. I turn my attention to him and started explaining to him what a fortune cookie was. Then he asks me “Can we make some at home?” Before I could answer, my fiance says “No, you can’t make those kind of cookies at home, they only make them in a factory.” Then my son says “Why not? Do you have to cut them out with scissors?” I thought about it for a second trying to figure out what he meant by the scissors question , did he mean the shape? Then I realized what he meant and answered him “Yes, you have to cut the paper to go inside the cookie with the scissors, it’s a craft.”

A few days later I was at Walmart looking around in the craft section and came across the scissors. I thought I should buy my son some kid scissors so he could practice cutting paper (like he’s learning in school) at home. I ask him “Do you want some little scissors to cut paper?” Then his eyes lit up, and he says “To make fortune cookies?” I thought to my self this is going to be one crazy project / food craft, but why not? I looked into his eyes and said “Yes, let’s get all our supplies right now, and we will make them as soon as we get home!” That’s exactly what we did. Who needs a factory? Do It Yourself!

Ingredients for fortune cookies:

• 2 – egg whites
• 1/8 – teaspoon almond extract
• 1/8 – teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 – teaspoon salt
• 1/2 – cup flour
• 1/2 – cup sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Place a baking mat on a cookie sheet and lightly spray with a non stick baking spray. Set to the side.
3. Write or print a few fortunes or messages on a piece of paper. Then cut them out and place them in a dish. Set to the side. 
4. In a mixer add in egg whites and almond and vanilla extract. Mix on high until egg whites are stiff. 
5. In a separate bowl sift the salt, flour, and sugar together. Mix well to combine.
6. Add the flour/sugar mixture to the egg whites. Mix well to combine.
7. Use a teaspoon, and pour it onto the baking sheet. 
8. With the back of a spoon make it into a 3 to 4 inch circle. Make one cookie at a time to begin with because it is hard to get the timing right with more then two. You need to fold the cookies fast or they will break and not work. Start with one and see how many you can make.    
9. Bake cookie for 5 minutes. The edge should be golden and the inside pale.
10. Take it out and quickly remove the cookie from the mat with a spatula. 
11. Then place a fortune in the middle. 
12. Next fold the cookie over so both ends meet. 
13. Last fold the cookie over the rim of a mug.
14. Place the cookie down to cool completely.  
15. Make the next one. This recipe made almost 2 dozens.
16. Eat This Now!