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Home » Recipes » Cookies

Gluten Free Fortune Cookies

A girl with a pink apron and a mug leaning against a kitchen counter.
Developed and tested by: by Carissa Erzen on Feb 25, 2023 · Updated: Jan 30, 2026 · This post may contain affiliate links · 14 Comments

Jump to Recipe Save RecipeSaved!
5 from 4 votes

Gluten free fortune cookies are super easy and fun to make. With inspiring and funny messages inside, they'll bring a smile to everyone's face. Make them at new years to share messages of fortune and prosperity.

Fortune cookies inside a Chinese takeout box.

Traditional fortune cookies aren't gluten free, but by using a gluten free flour blend, you can easily make these light crispy cookies gluten free.

The cookies are sweet with a hint of vanilla flavor. And since they're so thin, they're not heavy like other cookies. Which is dangerous, because you could end up eating the whole batch!

Half a dozen fortune cookies spread out on marble surface.

Ideas for Fortunes

The best part about making fortune cookies at home is that you can write whatever you want on your custom fortune message inside! You can write funny sayings for birthdays, poetic verses for Valentine's day, and inspiring messages for New Year's.

Some of my favorite fortune sayings include:

  • "About time I got out of that dang cookie!"
  • "Your lucky numbers are 20, 2, 0, 2020"
  • "hi, I think you're great!"
  • "Your pet is planning to eat you"
  • "Fortune smiles on those who don't look for it in a cookie"
Fortune cookies stacked in a pile on a white plate with a funny fortune message.

Recipe Tips

  • Bake Until Golden: Leave your cookies in the oven until they develop a deep golden color. If they're underbaked, the paper fortunes will stick to the inside of the cookies. And they won't be as crispy when they cool.
  • Handle Carefully: The cookies are very hot to handle when forming them into the traditional fortune cookie shape, so be careful! But if you wait for them to cool, they'll be too brittle to shape and they'll break.
  • Cool Your Fingers: Keep a bowl of ice water nearby to cool your fingers after holding the hot cookies.
  • Waffle Maker: You can also cook the batter in a waffle maker then shape the cookies, instead of baking the batter in the oven.
A hand spreading out cookie batter with a spoon on a baking sheet.

Fun Variations

  • Substitute the vanilla extract with almond extract for a different flavor.
  • Dye the batter festive colors, like red and green for Christmas.
  • Dip the ends of the shaped cookies in melted chocolate.
  • Drizzle or dip your cookies in a glaze, then add sprinkles or sesame seeds.
Baked fortune cookies stacked in a pile on a white plate.

Gluten Free Fortune Cookies

developed & tested by:

Carissa Erzen
Gluten free fortune cookies are super easy and fun to make. With inspiring & funny messages inside, they'll bring a smile to everyone's face.
5 from 4 votes
Print Pin Recipe Rate Recipe Save Saved Recipe!
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 40 minutes mins
Shaping Cookies 20 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 15 cookies
Calories 41 kcal

Ingredients
  

Cookies

  • ½ cup gluten free flour blend (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour)
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 Tablespoon water
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla

Paper Fortunes

  • 15 handwritten or printed fortunes on 6 cm by 1.5 cm pieces of paper

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a mixing bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, sugar, egg whites, water and vanilla. The fortune cookie batter will be pretty watery.
  • Use a small spoon to scoop about one tablespoon of the batter onto the baking sheet. Use the back of the spoon to spread out the batter into a thin circle.
    Repeat to form a total of four thin circles of batter.
  • Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cookies are a deep golden color and feel dry to the touch.
  • Remove the baking sheet from the oven and working quickly but carefully, place a paper fortune in the center of a circle. Fold the circle in half, leaving the center puffed up (don't flatten it). Then pinch the two ends together to form a crease in the center.
  • Quickly repeat with the other 3 cookies. They need to be folded and shaped while they're still hot. If they cool after about a minute, they'll harden and break when you try to fold them. But be careful not to burn your fingers!
  • Continue the process with the remaining batter, baking in small batches to have enough time to form the cookies while they're still hot. Enjoy!!

Notes

  • Leave your cookies in the oven until they develop a deep golden color. If they're underbaked, the paper fortunes will stick to the inside of the cookies. And they won't be as crispy when they cool.
  • The cookies are very hot to handle when forming them into the traditional fortune cookie shape, so be careful! If you wait for them to cool, they'll be too brittle to shape and they'll break.
  • Store cooled fortune cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will stay fresh and crisp for up to 3 to 4 days. Don't store them in the fridge, since that will introduce humidity and the cookies will lose their crispiness.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cookieCalories: 41kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 1gFat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.02gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.02gSodium: 7mgPotassium: 7mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 7gCalcium: 3mgIron: 0.2mg
Keyword gluten free fortune cookie, new year fortune cookie
Did you make this recipe?Leave a comment below - I love hearing from you!

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About Carissa Erzen

Growing up in Germany, I fell head-over-heels in love with ALL the German baked goods, from Lebkuchen to pretzels. Now I'm the founder, recipe developer, and food photographer behind Humbly Homemade, where I test and share German sweets lovingly created from scratch. So pull up a chair, and stay a while!

Comments

  1. Lori says

    September 17, 2025 at 4:08 pm

    5 stars
    My grandson gives this recipe a two thumbs up!

    Reply
    • Carissa Erzen says

      September 18, 2025 at 11:44 am

      Hi Lori, I'm so glad to hear that your grandson enjoyed these cookies!

      Reply
  2. T says

    January 15, 2025 at 4:03 pm

    I’m confused. The recipe says 4 egg whites from two eggs??? Which is it? One egg has one egg white and one yolk.
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Carissa Erzen says

      January 16, 2025 at 11:51 am

      Hello, the recipe says "2 egg whites (from two eggs)". I hope that clears up your confusion!

      Reply
  3. Maria says

    July 25, 2024 at 3:32 am

    5 stars
    These were so fun to make!! We love cooking Trader Joe's Chinese food for dinner, and these were the perfect complement to the meal! My kids had so much fun writing the messages for the cookies 🙂

    Reply
    • Carissa Erzen says

      July 30, 2024 at 2:36 pm

      I'm so glad your family enjoyed making these! I agree, writing the fortunes is one of the most fun parts lol

      Reply
  4. Michelle says

    July 23, 2024 at 12:45 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! The cookies were really hot to handle, but your ice water trick really helped. Maybe I'll try making these in the waffle maker next! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe, I think we'll be making these again and again every year.

    Reply
    • Carissa Erzen says

      July 30, 2024 at 2:43 pm

      That ice water is a life saver!

      Reply
  5. Fiona says

    July 23, 2024 at 12:43 pm

    5 stars
    Oh my goodness, these were so fun to make! I ran out of ideas of what to write on the fortunes, so I'm glad you wrote some down lol

    Reply
    • Carissa Erzen says

      July 30, 2024 at 2:43 pm

      I'm so glad to hear that! And no problem, I'm glad you could use them as inspiration lol

      Reply
  6. Yum-number1 says

    January 01, 2021 at 12:50 pm

    I have so many funny fortunes I could write, that are probably not appropriate to share here 😅
    Happy new year to you!!

    Reply
    • strawberryandcream says

      January 01, 2021 at 3:15 pm

      Haha! Now I'm really tempted to know what you'd write 😆

      Reply
  7. Kimo says

    January 01, 2021 at 12:36 pm

    They look yummy! I think about 10 cookies should do the trick!

    Reply
    • strawberryandcream says

      January 01, 2021 at 3:14 pm

      Haha! Might as well round it up to a dozen 😉

      Reply
5 from 4 votes

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A girl in a pink apron sitting on a kitchen counter.

Hello, I'm Carissa!

I'm the founder, recipe developer, and food photographer behind Humbly Homemade. Inspired by my childhood growing up in Germany, I share recipes of delicious German bakes from scratch.

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