Pomegranate Homemade Fortune Cookies

Homemade Fortune Cookies are easy to make! (Sort of.) Plus, when you make them yourself, you can make them pink!

Did y’all have a great NYE? Did you stay at home and pass out before midnight, or frolic around in a glittery dress drinking champagne out of the bottle? I plead the fifth on how I celebrated, but it was grand. I totally meant to post this recipe around Christmas time. Jews love pomegranate, and Chinese food on Christmas.  It would have been perfect! But day drinking time escaped me and here we are in 2014! I thought this would be even better as a first recipe of the New Year. You can fill yours with resolutions or wishes for 2014. Cute, right? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

In a large mixing bowl, whip together egg whites and sugar with an electric beater on high until frothy, about 2 minutes. Then add in melted butter and vanilla and mix until combined. Add in flour and mix well. Then add in pomegranate juice 1 tablespoon at a time until your batter is thick and fluid. Add food coloring if desired.

Spoon a tablespoon of the batter into 2 circles on the baking sheet, leave room for spreading. Use the back of a spoon to spread the batter out very thin. Don’t do more that 2 at a time as they harden quickly once you take them out of the oven and can be tricky to mold.

Bake for 5-7 minutes until the edges begin to brown. Quickly remove the cookies from the baking sheet one at a time and place a fortune in the center. Fold the cookie in half and then fold the ends together to form the fortune cookie. Cool in a muffin tin to hold shape. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Don’t be discouraged if yours don’t turn out at first. Sometimes it’s okay to not be perfect! Okay, usually I’m perfect, so just this one time it’s okay. My first few looked like this:

Whomp, whomp. But then I got the hang of it- here’s a tip, move fast.

Here’s another tip for 2014. Call your mother!

What Are Fortune Cookies, Really?

Here is the fact that surprises most people: fortune cookies are not Chinese. They descend from Japanese tsujiura senbei, a folded cracker sold near shrines in Kyoto, and were popularized in California in the early 1900s. They became a Chinese American restaurant tradition only after that.

Which makes them the perfect thing to bake for Christmas Eve, when Chinese food is the Jewish tradition. These are tinted pink with pomegranate juice, so they are also right at home on a Rosh Hashanah table.

Why Pomegranate

Pomegranate juice does two jobs. It tints the batter a gorgeous pink without any food coloring, and it adds a faint tartness against all that sugar. Pomegranate is also one of the symbolic Rosh Hashanah fruits, so these do double duty as a holiday cookie.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Egg whites. Three, whipped with the sugar until frothy. They give the cookies their crisp, brittle snap.
• Granulated sugar. Three quarters of a cup.
• Melted butter. Half a cup, melted and cooled so it does not cook the egg whites.
• All purpose flour. One cup, folded in at the end.
• Pomegranate juice. Four tablespoons, for color and tartness.
• Red food coloring. Optional, if you want a more dramatic pink.
• Paper fortunes. Cut and written BEFORE you start baking. This is not optional.

How to Make Fortune Cookies

1. Write your fortunes first. Cut small strips of paper and fill them in while the oven preheats to 350 degrees F. You will have no time later.
2. Make the batter. Whip egg whites and sugar on high until frothy, about 2 minutes. Add the cooled melted butter and vanilla, then fold in the flour and pomegranate juice.
3. Bake two at a time. Spoon a tablespoon of batter into two circles on a lined sheet and spread very thin with the back of a spoon. Only two. They harden the moment they leave the oven.
4. Bake 5 to 7 minutes until the edges just begin to brown.
5. Fold fast. Lift one cookie, lay a fortune in the center, fold in half, then bend the ends down over the rim of a glass or a mug. Repeat with the second before both go crisp.

How to Fold a Fortune Cookie Without Burning Yourself

The fold has to happen within about 10 seconds of the cookie leaving the oven, while it is still pliable. Once it cools it shatters instead of bending.

Two things make this survivable. First, only bake two at a time, no matter how tempting it is to fill the sheet. Second, keep the rim of a glass or the edge of a muffin tin next to you to press the folded cookie against, so you are shaping it rather than pinching hot cookie between your fingers. Thin cotton gloves are not a ridiculous idea.

Tips for the Best Fortune Cookies

• Spread the batter thin. Thick circles will not fold, they will crack.
• Make the circles even. An uneven cookie bakes unevenly and tears along the thin edge.
• Work near the oven. Every second of walking is a second of cooling.
• If a cookie hardens, put it back. Ten seconds in the oven softens it enough to fold.
• Use parchment or a silicone mat. These stick to bare pans without fail.

Storage

Store cooled fortune cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Humidity is the enemy: they go soft and chewy if left out, so seal them as soon as they cool completely.

The batter can be made a few hours ahead and kept covered at room temperature. Do not refrigerate it, or the butter will seize and the cookies will not spread.

Fortune Cookie FAQ

Are fortune cookies actually Chinese?

No. They originate from Japanese tsujiura senbei sold near temples in Kyoto, and were popularized in California in the early twentieth century. They are essentially unknown in China, where they are sometimes sold as an American novelty.

Why do my fortune cookies crack when I fold them?

They cooled too much. You have roughly 10 seconds of working time. Bake only two at a time, and if one hardens, return it to the oven for a few seconds to soften.

Can I make the batter ahead of time?

A few hours ahead at room temperature is fine. Do not refrigerate it, since cold butter stops the batter spreading into thin even circles.

How do I write the fortunes?

Cut strips roughly 3 inches by half an inch and write or print them before you bake. Keep them short so they fit inside the fold, and use ink that will not smudge from the heat.

Why only two cookies at a time?

Because folding is a race. A full sheet of six will be rock hard before you reach the third one. Two is genuinely the maximum unless you have a second pair of hands.

Can I make them gluten free?

A cup for cup gluten free flour blend works reasonably well here, since the structure comes mostly from the egg whites rather than gluten. Expect a slightly more fragile cookie.

Do they taste like pomegranate?

Faintly. The juice contributes more color and a background tartness than a strong fruit flavor. It keeps them from being purely sweet, which is a real improvement on the restaurant version.

Making a whole Chinese Christmas feast? Try my moo shu with mandarin pancakes, or browse 40 Chinese food recipes.

Pomegranate Fortune Cookies

Amy Kritzer

Make fortune cookies at home! These are a beautiful pink with a subtle pomegranate flavor!

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 30

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter melted and cooled
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons pomegranate juice
• Red food coloring optional

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. While it is preheating, fill out fortunes on small pieces of paper. Then line cookie sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat.
• In a large mixing bowl, whip together egg whites and sugar with an electric beater on high until frothy, about 2 minutes. Then add in melted butter and vanilla and mix until combined. Add in flour and mix well. Then add in pomegranate juice 1 tablespoon at a time until your batter is thick and fluid. Add food coloring if desired.
• Spoon a tablespoon of the batter into 2 circles on the baking sheet. Use the back of a spoon to spread the batter out very thin. Don't do more that 2 at a time as they harden quickly once you take them out of the oven and can be tricky to mold.
• Bake for 5-7 minutes until the edges begin to brown. Quickly remove the cookies from the baking sheet one at a time and place a fortune in the center. Fold the cookie in half and then fold the ends together to form the fortune cookie. Cool in a muffin tin to hold shape. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Like this recipe?Leave a comment or rate us above