Homemade fortune cookies perfect for Valentines

This post about making Fortune cookies originally appeared on February 2, 2011.

I have been planning this activity since I came across the recipe for these homemade Fortune Cookies on Cooking with my Kid.   We had so much fun putting them together this morning, I can’t wait to make another batch.

Homemade fortune cookies

what you need:  fortune cookie recipe ~slip printouts~ colored pencils

Printout the slips of paper to give your little ones a guide of the size the paper needs to be.  Make sure they know you will be cutting the paper on the lines.  You can tell from the pics that M and M had very different ideas of how to fill the rectangles.

Big M filled his spaces with diesel trucks and a special note to Daddy.

Little M wrote a message in each rectangle.  Of course unless you read Little M’s special language it’ll be hard to know what it says.  I think she likes it that way!

Once we had enough slips to fill our cookies, it was time to get out the ingredients.

This recipe has only a few ingredients and is very simple to whip up. . .the hard part comes after the baking!  I let the kids pick the colors for our batter.  Little M started with red and then asked to add blue. . .great set up for a little color mixing.

After they stirred for a bit, I let them have a handful of sprinkles.  Doesn’t it look like they are in a stirring race?

After we put the cookies in the oven (make sure to read the recipe carefully on how to bake these) it was time to do some folding.    They need to be folded right out of the oven and then placed on the side of a coffee mug.  I was hoping the kids could fold a few, but if the cookies cool at all they break instead of bend.  So I let Little M hold the camera instead.  Pretty good for an almost 4 year old!

Here they are, ready to  go.  The plan was to pass them out to the neighbors as a Valentine surprise.  But it’s rest time now, I’m sitting with a cup of coffee and a quiet house and so, well you know. . . we may need to bake more tomorrow!

Question (to ask your kids): Whenever you cook with your kids you are exposing them to science.  Really pay attention to how things change through the cooking process.  “How does the butter feel, just out of the fridge?  What do you think will happen if I put it over a flame?  Why does it look this way now?  Can you think of something else that changes when it’s heated up?”

Tips(to maximize learning):  1.  The folding part was not hard, but it did take some practice.  Try only baking four cookies on the first round.  Once they are cooling put in a few more.  That way you can play around with circle size.  2.   I had M and M cut out their strips. . .anytime you can work on those fine motor skill take it!

More Valentine Fun
Valentine Hopping Game for Toddlers
Homemade Valentine Cards
DIY Valentine Cards for School