Thursday, January 29, 2009

Daring Baker's Challenge for January 2009 - Fortune Cookies! (aka: Tuiles) with Bonus Video

The red cutout is by No Thank You Boy. It's the Chinese symbol for spring (or so he's told) and they did it in school.

This month's Daring Baker's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

The Challenge was not a recipe per se, but more of a technique used to make tuiles. "Traditionally, tuiles are thin, crisp almond cookies that are gently molded over a rolling pin or arched form while they are still warm. Once set, their shape resembles the curved French roofing tiles for which they're named."

Okaaaaaay. So, I went a-searching for what the heck to make since the butterfly example and the use of a template didn't really float my boat, when I realized... EGAD! These are fortune cookies! AND Chinese New Year was Monday, January 26! Happy Year of the Ox! (So tonight we're gonna party like it's 1999 4707).
You so know I would have inserted a link to an appropriate music video here, but His Royal Purple Badness has threatened to sue YouTube if they put any up, and goodness knows we don't want to get Himself's knickers in a twist, not that he probably wears any. But again, as usual, I digress.

Here's the "how-to" on the fortune cookies. Recipe and tweaks to follow.

Part I : Baking Prep

Part II : Cookie Formation

My modified fortune cookie/tuiles recipe is below or you can find the original one at Bake My Day here. Additional equipment needed to make fortune cookies: muffin tins, cotton gloves, coffee mug, spatula and fortunes printed on little paper slips. You can see how I used the equipment in the above video. For fortune cookies, the batter is best if it's a little runny, but I did chill it for about an hour (30 minutes is fine, I just got busy doing other stuff) to let the flour integrate and then pulled it out of the fridge and let it re-soften for about 30 minutes. You need the thin cotton gloves to safely handle the hot cookies without burning your fingers and the mufin tin is so that they hold their shape; they will unbend if you don't put them in there. Store in an air tight container.

Confucious say:
Try make cookies. Much fun and you can do with ease.
Man who run in front of car get tired.
Man who run behind car get exhausted.
Man with one chopstick go hungry.
Celebration of Lisa's 100th post with giveaway coming soon.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
(Confucious really say this last one)

yes, I did wrap the tripod (Joby's Gorillapod) around the cabinet frame to shoot the video :D

Thanks to Karen and Zorra for selecting this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge. You can find the complete recipe on their sites.

To see what all the other DBer’s did, you can find the blogroll here and if you’d like to join the monthly party, info about that can be found on that page as well.

Fortune Cookies
Following is a recipe adapted from a book called “The Chocolate Book”, written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck.

Preparation time: batter 10 minutes, waiting time: 60 minutes, baking time:10-12 minutes per batch. I made a double batch and got about 28 cookies.

Ingredients:
¼ cup softened butter (not melted but soft)
½ cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 dash of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
½ cup sifted all purpose flour
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet or use silicone baking mat or parchment paper

Unique Equipment:
muffin tin(s)
thin cotton gloves
spatula
coffee mug
fortunes printed on slips of paper
tablespoon measuring spoon

Using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed), mix/cream butter, sugar and vanilla and almond extract to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to an hour to allow the flour to incorporate. Take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a tablespoon measure, spoon out tablespoonfuls of the batter onto the baking sheet. I did 6 at a time. Swirl the batter into a fairly uniform circle about 3 ½ inches in diameter. Don’t worry if the batter seems a little see-through in places; it will even out in the oven. Bake for about 10 – 12 minutes, checking at the 9 or 10 minute mark. You want to see that the edges are turning golden brown.

Before you're ready to pull them out, have your cotton gloves, muffin tins, fortunes, mug and spatula at the ready. Pull the pan out of the oven. Working quickly, use the spatula to lift one of the circles off the sheet and lay it in your gloved hand. Take a slip of fortune paper and lay it on one half of the circle. Fold the cookie in half, gently holding the outside edges. Move to the coffee mug and bend it in half over the edge. Voila! Fortune cookie!

Place the newly bent cookie in the muffin tin so that it will hold its shape and not unbend. You may have to put some of the remaining cookies back into the over for a few minutes to re-soften so that they bend nicely.


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28 comments:

  1. Great job! I love the photos, the videos, and your set up for the project. The fortune cookies were a flash of inspiration and a ton of fun! Brava!

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  2. Awesome job, Lisa! I'm so impressed that you made videos. And the finished cookies look perfect.

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  3. you're right, it is the perfect month to make fortune cookies! and yours look perfect :)

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  4. Mmm, your tuiles look amazing! I love the fortune cookie shape =D!

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  5. Thanks for sharing a video. You make it look so easy. :)

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  6. Oulalalala it's so great that you shared how to make fortune cookies :-)
    Great job!

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  7. Wow! How creative! I love your fortune cookies.

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  8. Great vid and fantastic fortune cookies! They look even better than the ones at the bottom of your bag of Chinese takeout, but that's the whole point, right? LOL

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  9. wow, the look amazing. what a great idea

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  10. I love the fortune cookies. Thanks for showing us how to make these with a video. Great job on this month's challenge.

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  11. great job on your challenge and love the fortune cookie idea. Also Gong Xi Fatt Chai (or happy chinese new year).

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  12. You amaze me. I tried to make fortune cookies in high school for the international food fair, and my spanish teacher ate the fortune. Because it baked into the cookie. I'd like to think that my skills have improved since then, but who am I kidding! These fortune cookies look amazing, Lisa. And what a fabulous way to interpret tuiles just in time for the Chinese New Year. I LOVED your post!

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  13. You should just have a teaching blog, you do a great job.

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  14. Hi Lisa!!! When I first saw the fortune cookie snap in my RSS reader.. I thought it was bought.. nay.. make homemade..

    OH my gosh... you have it down, the whole rhythm!! BTW, I like the Kanji and you are such a PRO!

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  15. What fun! I haven't made fortune cookies in years. Yours turned out much better than mine did.

    Loved the Confucius sayings. I'm sure whoever opens your fortune cookies is in for a real treat!

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  16. Your fortune cookies are a great idea and they look so lovely :-)!!

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  17. Awesome job, Lisa! Those are some fabulous fortune cookies.

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  18. What a fab idea to do fortune cookies - I want to make some!! :)

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  19. What an amazing shaping job! I'm jealous - I burnt my fingers just quickly rolling them, let alone something more complicated. Beautiful job!

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  20. Your fortune cookies are so perfect!

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  21. They look just perfect! Clever use of a muffin pan.

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  22. Those are perfect. Glad they worked out so well. Mine didn't, nuff said. Great job.

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  23. What a cool idea and you executed it perfectly. And 100 posts is quite the milestone. Great job!
    Nancy

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  24. Really gorgeous! And what a great idea for the tuiles challenge!

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  25. I love that you made fortune cookies! Great job on the challenge.

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