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.
And for more tasty gluten free cookie recipes, try cookie dough macarons, German coconut macaroons, or chewy corn flour cookies.
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. Plus this homemade fortune cookie recipe is naturally dairy free too!
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!
Origins of Fortune Cookies
The historical origins of fortune cookies are a bit disputed. Today, you can find them all over the world in Chinese restaurants. But did fortune cookies originally come from China? There is a pretty strong consensus that the answer is no.
Some say the fortune cookie was invented in LA in 1918, by a Chinese immigrant named David Jung. Others claim fortune cookies originated from bakeries in Japan. Regardless of its origins, these tasty cookies can be enjoyed all over the world today.
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"
How to Make Gluten Free Fortune Cookies
- 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 a deep golden color and feel dry to the touch.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven. 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!!
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.
Variations
- Substitute the vanilla extract with almond extract for a different flavor.
- Dye the batter festive colors, like red and green for Christmas.
- Substitute the vanilla extract for peppermint extract and dye the batter red to make peppermint fortune cookies.
- Dip the ends of the shaped cookies in melted chocolate.
- Drizzle or dip your cookies in a glaze, then add sprinkles or sesame seeds.
Storing
Store your gluten free 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.
More Gluten Free Baking Recipes
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Easy Gluten Free Breadsticks
- Savory Carrot Galette
- Chocolate Corn Flour Cookies
- Vegan Cookie Dough Macarons
- Strawberry Pop Tart Macarons
- Chocolate Strawberry Macarons
- Macaron Trouble Shooting Guide
Gluten Free Fortune Cookies
Ingredients
- 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 (from two eggs)
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 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.
T
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!
Carissa Erzen
Hello, the recipe says "2 egg whites (from two eggs)". I hope that clears up your confusion!
Maria
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 🙂
Carissa Erzen
I'm so glad your family enjoyed making these! I agree, writing the fortunes is one of the most fun parts lol
Michelle
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.
Carissa Erzen
That ice water is a life saver!
Fiona
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
Carissa Erzen
I'm so glad to hear that! And no problem, I'm glad you could use them as inspiration lol
Yum-number1
I have so many funny fortunes I could write, that are probably not appropriate to share here 😅
Happy new year to you!!
strawberryandcream
Haha! Now I'm really tempted to know what you'd write 😆
Kimo
They look yummy! I think about 10 cookies should do the trick!
strawberryandcream
Haha! Might as well round it up to a dozen 😉