These homemade fortune cookies are so easy to make for New Years with just 5 ingredients in the vanilla cookie batter. The cookies bake flat in just 8 minutes, then get folded around paper fortunes while they're still warm. As they cool, they crisp up, so you can crack them open and enjoy a fun dessert for a crowd!
Better-Than-Takeout crispy Fortune Cookies
I love the nostalgia of that hushed moment after family dinner, when everyone cracks open their crisp, golden little cookies to either laugh or groan at the fortune tucked inside. But those fortunes were always so generic, so I wrote my own! I pen them on strips of paper, and only include the most cheeky, unhinged phrases, tailored to whoever's sitting at the table.
Now these homemade fortune cookies are one of my family's favorite holiday rituals. I usually make my batter gluten free because of dietary restrictions in my family at New Years, but all purpose flour works just as well.
The best part is that these crispy cookies taste so much fresher than anything from a store or restaurant, with a delicate vanilla-flavored snap.
These are the kind of bake that turns an ordinary dinner into a little main-character moment, and they make a sweet, personal gift too. And if you're looking for another giftable cookie for the holidays, my spiced gingerbread hearts have cute phrases written on them instead of hidden inside.
My Ideas for Fortune Phrases
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.
Here are some of my favorites:
- "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"
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.
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.
Gluten Free Fortune Cookies
developed & tested by:
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.
Lori says
My grandson gives this recipe a two thumbs up!
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Lori, I'm so glad to hear that your grandson enjoyed these cookies!
T says
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 says
Hello, the recipe says "2 egg whites (from two eggs)". I hope that clears up your confusion!
Maria says
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 says
I'm so glad your family enjoyed making these! I agree, writing the fortunes is one of the most fun parts lol
Michelle says
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 says
That ice water is a life saver!
Fiona says
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 says
I'm so glad to hear that! And no problem, I'm glad you could use them as inspiration lol
Yum-number1 says
I have so many funny fortunes I could write, that are probably not appropriate to share here 😅
Happy new year to you!!
strawberryandcream says
Haha! Now I'm really tempted to know what you'd write ðŸ˜â€
Kimo says
They look yummy! I think about 10 cookies should do the trick!
strawberryandcream says
Haha! Might as well round it up to a dozen 😉