Fortune cookies #GBBO

Here at myBaker we are loving the new series of the Great British Bake Off, and when I heard that this week was biscuit week, I was excited to watch this week’s episode.

Like many of you I was confused when I heard that the judges tasked the bakers with fortune cookies in biscuit week! Is a fortune cookie really a biscuit? Is it even a cookie? Oh well, as an intern at myBaker who loves baking, I jumped at the chance to have a go at this week’s technical challenge.

I bought all the necessary ingredients and followed the recipe on the Great British Bake Off website and well, here they are…

I know what you’re thinking, they look delicious.

Okay, I will admit that whilst I gave it my best shot, my fortune cookies did not turn out at all how I imagined. I managed to severely undercook them, so I was left with raw pastry that looked more like a piece of dried fruit than a fortune cookie. Even though the recipe specified to leave the mixture in the oven for 9-10 minutes, I should have just left them in for another 5 minutes so that my fortune cookies would actually ‘snap’ in half. Instead, my family members simply lifted up the soggy pastry to obtain their fortune before tossing it aside.

If they didn’t taste good, I at least want them to look good. I should have also used more food colouring. A few more drops of orange food colouring would have done the trick. I also forgot to draw a pattern on several of the orange fortune cookies before I put the batter in the oven. Hey, at least I managed to seal all the cookies to form the classic fortune cookie shape. Trick it to work quick; I found that putting two in the oven at a time allowed me enough time to mould the cookie before it hardened.

Can you see the stripes? Well, that was all part of the design. Only joking of course. I used greaseproof paper instead of a silicone mat which resulted in my paper crinkling when I place it on the tray. I definitely need to invest in a silicone mat. It’s reusable and will saves me buying endless rolls of paper.

I am definitely going to have another go at baking fortune cookies. I was pretty deflated when I saw the finish product and know that I can do so much better. I just hope that after reading this blog you won’t make the same mistakes as I made.

Good luck!