Book Club

We have a neighborhood book club. I love it. Mostly because I love the ladies in that participate. We get together once a month, eat a lot of food, discuss the book of the month for a minute or two, and then just laugh the rest of the night. Its awesome.
This month we read Wild Swans by Jung Chang. I only got through half of it because I didn't get the book until a week earlier and I just don't have a lot of spare time these days. It is a real interesting book and opened my eyes to the world of the Chinese and Communism. Lets just say I am so glad I was born at this time and in this place. I don't how how these people survived.

So, for our treat Kristen, Kim, and I decided to make fortune cookies with specific fortunes for each person. We thought we were pretty funny when we were making them up and, lets be honest, they WERE pretty darn funny. And they were cute and delicious too. We added the chocolate and sprinkles which just added to the cuteness and deliciousness. Yummy.

Here is the recipe for anyone that has the inclination to make some good fortune cookies. We used a silicone mat on a cookie sheet and a TON of Pam so they wouldn't stick. Worked like a charm.

Makes 15 (we doubled the batch and actually got 45-50. We lost count because we ate so many while we made them...)

These delicious cookies don’t have to be confined to Chinese meals; they also make wonderful
party favors, place cards, or everyday desserts. The batter used to make these fortune cookies is traditional tuile batter. Tuiles are thin, crisp cookies that are easy to mold into curved shapes while still warm from the oven. Remember, the key to success with these oversize cookies is to shape them quickly.

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large egg whites
1 cup superfine sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 pinch of salt
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
Nonstick cooking spray

1. Heat oven to 400°. Spray a cookie sheet liberally with cooking spray. Melt butter in a small
saucepan over low heat; set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites and sugar, and beat on medium speed,
about 30 seconds. Add flour and salt, and beat until combined. Add butter, heavy cream, and
almond extract, and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.

3. Pour 1 tablespoon of batter onto half of the baking sheet, and spread with the back of a spoon (spray spoon with pam) into a thin 5-inch circle (we did 3-4 inch to make them smaller); repeat on the other half of the sheet. Bake until the edges of the cookies turn golden brown, about 8 minutes.

4. Transfer baking sheet to a heat-resistant surface. Working as quickly as possible, slide a
spatula (an offset spatula, available at specialty kitchen shops, works best) under one of the
cookies. Lift it up, and place it on a clean kitchen towel. Using your fingers, fold the cookie in half, pinching the top together to form a loose semicircle. Hold the cookie with your index fingers
inserted at each open end, and slide your thumbs together along the bottom line. Press into the
center of the cookie while bending the two open ends together and down to form the shape of a
fortune cookie. This whole process should take about 10 seconds. Once the cookie hardens,
which begins to happen almost immediately, you cannot fold it. Place the fortune cookie on the
kitchen towel to cool, and shape the second cookie. Repeat until all the batter is used up. To
speed up the process, bake four cookies at a time, staggering two cookie sheets by 4 minutes to
give you time to shape. To avoid wasting batter, practice folding with a circle of paper first.

5. Write your message on a long strip of sturdy art paper, such as Japanese moriki. Thread the
fortune through the cookie when it has cooled.