Each fortune cookie is individually wrapped in clear cellophane to seal in freshness, reduce mess and provide for the safest shipping possible, reducing the likelihood of breakage.
In 1974 fortune cookie manufacturing changed forever. Edward Louie, the owner of the Lotus Fortune Cookie Company in San Francisco, invented a machine that could insert the fortune and fold the cookie. In 1980 Yong Lee created the first fully automated fortune cookie machine, called the Fortune III. Modern machines follow the same steps of handmade fortune cookies: they mix ingredients, pour batter into 3” cups which are then covered with metal plates to keep the batter flat and bake for about 3 ½ minutes. Vacuums then suck fortunes into place, use metal fingers to fold the fortune in half to trap the fortune inside, bend the cookie into shape, and cool and package the final cookie. Now fortune cookie machines like the Kitamura FCM-8006W can make up to 8,000 cookies in an hour!
Fortune cookies often come at the end of a meal in a Chinese, and sometimes Japanese, restaurant. Traditionally, the fortunes were Confucian phrases about life (Confucius was a famous Chinese philosopher from the 6th century BC—over 2500 years ago!). Nowadays, the fortunes inside the cookies contain just about everything from quotes to advice. Some companies even let you write your own fortunes! Often, they are written in both English and Chinese, and may have lottery numbers and smiley faces on them.
Should you not have seen a fortune cookie, let me describe one for you. They are small, hard golden cookies that can fit into the palm of your hand. But there’s one thing that makes them unique: they’re folded into a butterfly shape to create a pocket holding a 1/2” x 2” paper “fortune.”
So, just how did these two gentlemen manage to get fortunes inside their cookies? Well, the process is actually very simple, and relies on the basic chemistry of a common ingredient—sugar. The batter for fortune cookies is usually composed of sugar, flour, water and eggs. When warm, the dough is flexible and can be molded into many shapes. When the baked dough cools though, the sugar hardens into a crispy, shiny cookie. Originally, bakers would mix the dough, pour it out into 3” circles, bake them, quickly place a fortune in the middle and use chopsticks to fold them into the familiar shape before they cooled.
Fortune cookies are a prominent part of Asian-American cuisine and have filtered into popular culture as well. People create customized fortune cookies to send funny messages to friends and family—and sometimes to even propose marriage to a loved one! They are even used in advertising campaigns for corporations. Even though popular belief says otherwise, modern fortune cookies are as American as baseball and apple pie.
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Fortune Cookies | How It’s Made
FAQ
How do they get the paper in fortune cookies?
What is a fortune cookie?
A fortune cookie is a crisp and sugary cookie wafer made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and sesame seed oil with a piece of paper inside, a “fortune”, an aphorism, or a vague prophecy. The message inside may also include a Chinese phrase with translation and/or a list of lucky numbers used by some as lottery numbers.
How are fortune cookies made?
The process must be completed quickly, as it doesn’t take long for the desserts to harden. The folded cookies are then cooled before being packaged and shipped to restaurants and retailers. Today, most fortune cookies are made by machine, but some artisanal bakers still whip them up by hand.
Where are fortune cookies made?
The largest fortune cookie manufacturer is in New York City. Wonton Food Inc., based in Brooklyn, is the largest manufacturer of fortune cookies in the world. The company was founded in 1973 by Ching Sun Wong, who immigrated from China to the U.S. in the 1960s. He started the company in a store’s basement.
Are fortune cookies easy to make?
As I mentioned briefly above, a fortune cookie is not as easy to make as say, a batch of Peanut Butter Cookies. These are made and folded individually, and because they have to be crimped while they’re hot, you can only do a few at a time. My recommendation is to get a few helpers and have fun making them together. It goes a lot quicker that way!