You’ll never know the importance of Lunar New Year unless you are Asian or married to one. Mine is obviously the second reason. It’s amazing though how accurate Chinese astrology animals match up with personality traits. I’m a rabbit and I can say that it does line up with the character of my spirit. My son; who is a Dragon is truly a Dragon. We could wax on about this for a while, but the New Year is all about being with family, friends and eating. Lots of eating. Lots of relaxing, and did I mention lots of eating? It involves a lot of traditions as well depending on your family and what your Asian family holds in making certain foods. I lived in Taiwan back in 2012 so I have experienced the culture first hand, and fortune cookies while are an American thing; sweets still encompass Lunar New Year such as almond cookies, pineapple tarts, and sticky rice cake. See my recipes for my almond cookies and pineapple tarts.
When I saw this recipe posted by https://cooktildelicious.com/brown-butter-fortune-cookies/us on I think it was Instagram? can’t remember, but I thought is was so adorable with the markings from the waffle maker I had to try it. I decided to mix some matcha powder into some of the batter, since I love matcha anything. I also did a mix of the regular batter swirled in with a tiny bit of the matcha more for color than flavor to mix it up a bit.
Brown Butter Fortune Cookies (and a Green Tea Version)
(recipe from cooktildelicious.com)
1 stick unsalted butter
60 g water (4 Tbsp)
6 large egg whites
160 g granulated sugar (3/4 C + 1/2 Tbsp)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. vanilla
160 g all purpose flour (1 C + 1 Tbsp)
In a small saucepan heat the butter over medium heat until it turns medium light brown and toasty, while continuously stirring gently with a heat proof spatula. Remove from the heat and add the water. Set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl place the egg whites and the sugar and salt and whisk until frothy. Stir in the vanilla. Whisk in the cooled browned butter. Whisk in the flour gently until combined.
Green Tea Matcha version
Remove 1/2 cup of the prepared batter and stir in 1 tsp. matcha powder until combined.
To make with a waffle cone maker- heat up the make for a few minutes, once ready place 1 level tablespoon of batter in the middle of the iron, close the lid and bake for about 60 seconds or until golden brown. Remove with an offset spatula and place the fortune in the top 1/3 of the cookie. Match up the bottom to the top by folding the bottom to meet the top and then grasp by the edges and on the folded side bend over an edge of a baking pan and place in a container to hold it’s shape until cool; such as an empty egg carton.
Notes: I made my fortune messages with 3 inch long strips of paper and about 1/2 inch wide. You can hand write your fortunes or on a computer if you use about a 12 size font that seemed to work well.
To bake in an oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat. Place a tablespoon of batter on the mat about 4-5 in in diameter. Bake until golden about 9-11 minutes. Slide an offset spatula under the cookie, then immediately shape. I’ve linked her video here from her blog so you can see how to shape the cookies.
