No Chinese take-out (or dine-in) meal is complete without a fortune cookie to finish. Those delicate vanilla shells filled with good fortune are a fun way to end a delicious meal. I’ve been on a mission to recreate my favorite dishes from scratch, so it’s fitting to end with a homemade fortune cookie. These airy and subtly sweet confections are the reason why I eat all of the other stuff first!

A few simple ingredients, a Silpat, and some prewritten fortunes, and you’ve got a fortune cookie! A Silpat is a silicone baking sheet that is a baker’s lifesaver when it comes to delicate baked goods like a fortune cookie.

I start by making the batter with egg whites, sugar, vanilla and almond extracts, and sesame oil. Sesame oil gives a hint of deliciously and slightly sweet nuttiness to the flavor of the cookie.

A tablespoon of batter for each cookie goes onto the Silpat and they bake until they begin to take on that distinctive pale gold color. You’ll want to keep an eye on these so that they don’t burn. The cookies need to retain a degree of softness for the next step.

Time is of the essence to complete the formation of each cookie. I place one of my fortunes into the center and gently fold the cookie in half, a kind of winged, half-moon shape that is ubiquitous to the fortune cookie. I have a muffin tin waiting on the side and gently set each cookie into the tin. This will help the cookies keep their shape as they cool and become crunchy. The finished cookie will have a crisp pop as it’s opened to reveal the fortune inside.

There’s no other way to end a delicious Chinese food feast than with a fresh-baked fortune cookie. The anticipatory joy that is felt knowing that these delightful confections are waiting for us at the end is something that I look forward to every time I order out or dine in at my favorite Chinese food restaurant.

Homemade Fortune Cookies are best enjoyed after a meal of Chinese Pan-Fried Dumplings, Szechuan Stir-Fried Green Beans, Nuo Mi Fan, and Cantonese Char Siu Pork.