Make your own fortune cookies at home. The best part is that you can customize the fortunes inside. Bonus: homemade fortune cookies taste better than store bought cookies! This post contains affiliate links.
Make a batch of our fortune cookies and serve with one of our homemade Chinese food recipes! We have recipes for chicken chow mein, egg rolls and more!
Watch our step by step video!
We first started making our own fortune cookies in 2010. I made about a dozen batches that year and gave them as gifts to the kids' teachers, and we (of course) enjoyed a few batches for ourselves. We also made ice cream bowls out of the fortune cookie batter and they were SO good! The kids gobbled them right up. I love almond extract which is why I think I love this recipe so much. It has the perfect amount. These cookies are crispy, sweet, and have a wonderfully light texture.
Tips for Baking Fortune Cookies
- You can use baking sheets lined in silpat, parchment paper or non stick baking sheets. We've found the easiest method is to LIGHTLY spray non stick cooking spray onto a baking sheet. Don't use too much spray or your cookies will lose their shape, but a light coating helps them come right off.
- Only bake 2-3 cookies at a time. You have to work while the cookies are hot, and they cool down pretty quickly. So only bake 2-3 cookies at a time. While you are forming them into shapes you can have another sheet of cookies baking in the oven.
- Check the cookies at 5 minutes. If the edges are golden, they are just about done. You can see the color you are looking for in my photos. Darker on the edges, lighter inside. If your cookies are too dark they will crumble instead of bending into the correct shape.
- Fortune cookies are crunchy on day 1, but might soften slightly on day 2. You can crisp them up again by heating in the oven at 200 degrees for a few minutes.
- Check out our video to help you learn how to fold a fortune cookie. It's pretty simple!
We've made these about a dozen times over the years and they are always a hit. My favorite is when the kids write their own fortunes inside and give them as Valentine's Day gifts to their teachers. Their cute handwriting really sets them apart. If you'd like to take these up a notch, try dipping them in white chocolate!
Homemade Fortune Cookies
Homemade Fortune Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp. water
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Set oven to 400F degrees.
- Beat egg whites until frothy peaks form.
- Add flour, sugar, and almond extract.
- Whisk until completely incorporated.
- Stir in water.
- LIGHTLY spray a baking sheet with non stick cooking spray.
- Pour a small amount (1T.) onto baking sheet. Spread into a 4" or 5" circle.
- Make 2 -3 circles per baking sheet. Baking in small batches helps ensure that you can shape the cookies before they harden and cool.
- Bake for 5 minutes, or until edges start to brown.
- Working fast, quickly remove one cookie from the baking sheet and place a paper fortune across the center. Bring two sides of the cookie together (to form a semi circle) then bend the cookie (on the fold) over the edge of a cup to create the fortune cookie shape.
- I like using a small ramekin to form the cookie, then I place the cookie inside the ramekin while it cools.
- Repeat for remaining cookies.
Shannon says
Fantastic recipe and technique!
For my oven, I used 350-degrees for 4 minutes, and checked on them each minute after that to be sure I didn't overcook them. Each batch seemed to take different times, so I stayed close to the oven and peeked at them.
I used a silicon mat on my cookie sheet and I covered another sheet with tin foilv(just to see if one was better but both worked great). I also lightly sprayed the nonstick cooking spray on each baking sheet.
They turned out so cute! We placed messages for the New Year inside, arranged them in a bowl, and gave them to our neighbor. Thank you for a fun time! 🙂
Brandy says
So glad they turned out so well! 🙂
Nikki says
Hello!
I made these for the first time and can’t seem to get the temperature and timing right for my oven. I have tried the 400 degrees for 5 minutes and the 375 degrees for 8 minutes. I have also played around with the timing on both. The issue I am having, is the center part of the cookie is soft and not crunchy like the rest of the cookie. The outside edges are a nice golden brown color and almost to the point of not wanting to cook it longer or it will burn. They look like the cookies in the picture where it shows you what they should look like when you take them out of the oven. Any thoughts? Also, I am spreading the batter very thin so I don’t think that is the issue. Please help!
Brandy says
Hi Nikki! It's frustrating how things can vary from kitchen to kitchen. What works for mine won't necessarily work for yours since the cookies are so thin! You might try baking them on parchment paper instead of directly on the pan to see if that extra layer helps them cook more evenly!
Alexandra S MacLeod says
I wonder if you have a gas oven? Making cookies with.my old gas oven was frustrating with the inconsistent temperature, so important with cookies. I keep an internal thermometer in my oven now and was shocked, at first, with what it reads to what the appliance stated the temperature was. I replaced the gas oven, which was fine for foods that aren't so temperature sensitive, with an electric convection double oven...pure Bliss.
Kelly says
Hi Brandy,
I would love to make these but I don’t know how much 1/2 cup is. Could you tell me how much that is in grams? As I am from The Netherlands 🤗
Thank you!
Brandy says
65 grams flour
108 grams sugar
Jenni says
Just made these this morning. Yum! And fun! I found that using silicon baking sheets was easiest for getting them off the pan and making them round. For some reason when I sprayed the pan, the shape was weird and they were still hard to get off.
Brandy says
Yay! They can be a little tricky so I’m glad you found a system that worked best!
Lora says
Thinking of making these for a wedding as seating cards. We would need a lot of them. Can they be frozen once cooked and shaped? Thanks!
Brandy says
Hi Lora! How exciting! Honestly, I'm not sure I'd use homemade fortune cookies for a giant crowd. They are fun to make, but time consuming, and after a day, begin to soften a little. I'm just not sure they'd stay crispy after being frozen.
Kay says
How long will these stay fresh?
Brandy says
Because they are homemade, they will start to soften around day 3. Best eaten within a couple of days. If you're looking for cookies that snap when you break them open they are best fresh.
Leslie Germain says
Hello Brandy. Thand you for posting this fun idea. I found your blog through a pin for the fortune cookies. I made these for my son's Ninjago party. Thank you. The party will be featured on my blog tomorrow with a link to your page. If you have a chance, stop by and check it out.
Leslie
http://www.thememorynest.blogspot.com
Kalleen at Second Street says
Thanks for linking up so many great ideas brandy!
Angie@treasures for tots says
Delicious!! Yummy!!
Thank you for sharing at Thursday's Treasures!
Come share again this week!
Steph @ somewhatsimple says
i have been wanting to make these forever now!
Jennifer says
We did a Chinese New Year Family Home Evening last year with food and games and such and I tried fortune cookies but the paper ended up sticking to the cookie. I'm not sure if it was the recipe or perhaps I didn't bake it quite long enough. I'll definitely have to try this recipe and hopefully it works a little better. Thanks for the link!
Gwen says
I ran into that too the first time I tried this recipe. But I tried reducing the temperature to 375F and baking for 8 minutes and it got more even bake all the way to the center and fixed the sticking issue for me!
Kay says
Good to know! I had the same problem
JHill says
So cute! I am going to bookmark this one because we are going to do a yummy Chinese meal on V-day since it's also Chinese New Year's. Thanks for the idea!