Kitchen Curious: Crack open New Year’s Eve fun with homemade fortune cookies

Everyone wants to know their fortune. So why not have some fun by playing the messenger?

If you’re looking for a creative food contribution for a New Year’s fete, these fortune cookies are the answer. These treats will be the talk of the party as guests crack open the cookie to read their lot in life.

There are a few tricks to getting these cookies to turn out beautifully. First, spread the batter as thinly as possible on the baking sheet, using the backside of the spoon to smooth it out and into a wafer-thin round. If the cookie is too thick, it will be difficult to shape once baked.

Try to keep the cookie size to about 2 1/2 inches. Larger than that and you risk the center of the cookie not baking all the way through, in which case it may stick to the fortune strips when the cookie is uncracked.

Also, be prepared to work quickly when you pull the cookies from the oven and shape them. They cool fast, and you need to insert the fortunes and fold them before they set. A second pair of hands can be helpful.

Finally, if the finished cookies become a bit soft before you serve them, just set them on a baking tray in a 200-degree oven for 10 minutes, then let cool until crisp.