Conference turris::cooks

the trick to shaping the cookie is to work with it while it is still very warm
and soft.  If the cookies begin to harden, place them back into the oven for
a few seconds or until they get hot to the touch.

    I helped a sunday school class make them awhile ago.  Like -.1 said
    form them when warm, the technique is to fold them in half, with the
    message in them then bend them in half again.  To hold their shape, we
    used egg cartons. Sounds like a lot of fun!

Hi,

	In the fortune cookie recipe I use it recommends folding the
	cookie in half, hold edges together 3 seconds (count of 3).
	Then grasp folded ends of cookie and place center of cookie 
	over the rim of a glass.  Gently press the ends down to
	bend cookie in middle.  This method works very well for me.

	As mentioned in the previous response, return the cookies to
	the oven if they get too brittle.

	I have added food coloring to the dough to make Valentine or
	Easter (or whatever holiday) fortune cookies!  The messages 
	are fun to create too!

	Good luck!

Mary
      

    Ohh - ouch - my fingers remember.
    
    I used a glass rim when I made them.  Having led a past life as an
    automobile rallyist, a friend (ALIBUT::BLOOM) and I made fortune
    cookies along with friends for a rally with an oriental theme.  We
    handed these out at checkpoints.  A week or two prior to the baking,
    we had a get-together where we came up with sick fortunes, for
    example:
    
         Rallyist who stand in road meet Grill of Dreams.
    
         Rallyist runs over fotomat - film at 11.
    
    The party was fun.  Then, just prior to the rally, we baked 200 of
    these goodies.  Folding them hot takes a toll on the fingers.  I still
    remember.  If you should happen to see a baker walking around with
    folded fingers, he or she was probably a fortune cookie folder.
    
    Fun times but not without pain.
    

    Does anyone have a recipe that they can post for Fortune Cookies?  I'm
    planning a Chinese meal and wanted to have this cookie as the dessert.
    
    Thanks,
    Shilah

    They're easier to buy already made -- unless you're planning
    *very* special fortunes...
    
    					andrew

    If you want to make them yourself, you should be able to use a recipe
    for cookies that are made from a batter poured onto a griddle, then
    molded into horns or rolls.  You'd just have to figure out how to mold
    them.  
    
    I once looked into a fortune cookie bakery on a back street in the
    North End of San Francisco.  A dozen women sat at a long table and
    hand-molded the cookies to the strains of Chinese opera.  
    
    The fortunes should be the fun part!  Imagine. . .
    
    btw, fortune cookies as dessert are an American invention.  If you'd
    like the traditional order of a Chinese meal, I'm sure our noters will
    oblige.
    
    L
    

    
    Fortune Cookies             [makes 16 cookies]
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    1/2 cup cake flour
    4 tablespoons sugar
    2 tablespoons cornstarch
    Dash salt
    4 tablespoons salad oil
    2 egg white
    2 tablespoon water
    16 "fortunes" written on 2"x1/2" slips of paper
    
    > Sift together flour, sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Add oil and egg
      white and stir until smooth.  Add water and mix well.
    
    > Make one cookie at a time:  Pour 1 tablespoon of batter onto a
      lightly greased skillet or griddle, spreading batter to a 3.5-inch
      circle.  Cook over low heat for 4 minutes or until lightly browned.
      With a wide spatula, lift and turn; cook 1 minute more.
    
    > Working quickly:  Place cookie on a pot holder. Place fortune in
      center, fold cookie in half, and fold again over the edge of a bowl 
      (curved side up - look at a real fortune cookie to get the idea). Place
      cookies in a muffin pan to cool (this helps them retain their shape as
      they cool.)