Homemade Fortune Cookies (+Printable Fortunes & Takeout Box) (2024)

Everything you need to create custom homemade fortune cookies: cookie recipe and step-by-step instructions, printable fortunes, and even an adorable, easy-to-make Takeout Box!

No matter how old you are, the moment when you crack open a fortune cookie still holds a little magic, and personalized fortune cookies are a great way to sayI Love You!

Homemade fortune cookies are perfect for birthdays, Valentine's Day, anniversaries, or any time you want to give someone a little something special.

What Goes into this Recipe

Fortune Cookies are made with a simple list of common ingredients.

• Butter: If you use salted butter, you can leave out the added salt in the recipe.
• Egg whites
• Sugar
• Heavy Cream
• Flavorings & Seasonings: almond extract, vanilla & salt

This post also includes everything you need to create custom fortune cookies, including printable fortunes and an adorable, easy-to-make Takeout Box!

• Fortune Cookie recipe & step-by-step instructions
• Printable Valentine's Day fortunes
• Chinese Takeout box DIY (akaOyster Pail)

How to Prepare the Fortunes

Personalized fortune cookies are perfect for kids, friends, family, teachers, and anyone else you want to surprise!

It is vital that you prepare the fortunesbeforeyou bake the cookies.You will not have time to do it when they come out of the oven!

Below are plenty ofprintable fortunes for your sweetheart, plus a page full of blanks for you to personalize!

TIP:Look to your favorite songs for fast fortune-writing.

How to Make the Fortune Cookies

Following the fortune cookie recipe below, it will take about 40 minutes to make 24 cookies. (Add about 15 minutes plus cooling time if you want to dip them in chocolate.)

IMPORTANT:No matter how crafty you are,planon a few broken cookies. They are going to happen –accept it.It’s OK though – just dip them in chocolate and enjoy.

Before you make the first cookie:

Preheat oven to 375°F [190°C].

Gather your materials:you will need a cookie sheet, a silpat mat or parchment paper, a cutting board, a coffee mug, and a muffin tin.

Mix the batter

In a blender or mixer, combine egg whites and sugar. Beat for one minute, and then add flour and salt and beat another 30 seconds. (I do this all in my blender.)

Add melted butter, heavy cream, and vanilla and almond extracts and beat until mixed.

Bake the Cookies

Be sure to have everything ready before you put the first cookie in the oven. (I know I already said this. I’m saying it again.)

Spoon 1 tablespoon of dough onto silicone baking sheet or parchment paper. (I use a Silpat sheet.)

Spread batter with the back of a spoon into a thin 4-5 inch circle.

Start by making 2 circles at a time. (I don’t ever do more than 3 at a time.) DO NOT try to make more than 3 or 4 cookies at a time, no matter how awesome you are. It won’t work. Really.

Bake for 5-6 minutes, or until the edges are very lightly browned. Remove from the oven.

These cookies are HOT when the come out of the oven.(Can a get a “Duh”?) You can wear non-cotton gloves if you want, but I find that very cumbersome. Instead, I use my fingernail to peel the cookie off the Silpat sheet, and then handle them gingerly with the tips of my fingers. Either way, you have been warned.

Fill & Form the Cookies

Immediatelytake one cookie and place it on a wooden cutting board. Keep bottom (the side that was "down" while cooking) down.

Place a fortune in the middle of the cookie and fold in half.

Place the middle of the flat side over the edge of a coffee mug.

Pull the corners down to shape.

If your cookies cool too fast, 15-30 seconds back in the oven will soften them… a little.

Immediately place the formed cookie into a muffin cup and allow it to cool completely.

OPTIONAL: Dip cooled cookies in melted chocolate and decorate with festive sprinkles!

Wait until the cookies are completely cool before attempting to dip them in chocolate. This just makes sense, but some people try to rush the process. Don’t be one of them.

How to Make a Take-out Box

NOTE: One takeout box will take the seasoned crafter about 5 minutes (and those with four thumbs about 15 minutes).

Print out theChinese Takeout Box pattern. Be sure to hit “fit for page” before you print.

Trace the pattern onto the back of a piece of heavy scrapbooking paper or cardstock.

Use scissors to cut along the SOLID BLACK lines.

Valley fold along the DOTTED BLUE lines. - In avalley fold,the crease is at the bottom and the paper isfoldedforward into itself. The paper should form a "V" when you unfold.

Mountain fold along the SOLID ORANGE lines. Amountain foldis the opposite of a valley fold. The paperfoldsto the opposite side.

Expert Tips & FAQs

Color Code your cookies!

Chocolate and sprinkles aren't just for fun! You can use them to avoid fortune-awkwardness (like giving your daughter a fortune that says "You are my Knight in Shining Armor").

Use different sprinkle combinations for your Sweetheart, kids, friends, etc. (If you choose to leave them plain, you're on your own.)

Make the fortunes before you start the cookies.

This bears repeating: It is vital that you prepare the fortunesbeforeyou bake the cookies.You will not have time to do it when they come out of the oven.

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