This New Year’s Eve, create good fortune for your friends and family by baking your own fortune cookies. Write encouraging or funny messages on strips of paper, then tuck them into these delicate, buttery cookies to ring in the New Year.

In a medium bowl, start by beating the egg white, sugar, and vanilla until foamy but not stiff.

Sift flour and salt over the bowl, and fold until incorporated.

Gently fold in the melted butter until smooth.

Drop 1 ½ teaspoons of the batter in three places on one baking sheet. Tilt the pan (or use an offset spatula) to spread batter into very thin 3-inch diameter circles.

Bake for 4-5 minutes, until golden brown around the edges, but pale in the middle. Remove from the oven and immediately place fortune paper in the middle of the cookie. Fold cookie in half; press corners to seal.

Bend in half to bring the points together. Place, points down, into a mini muffin pan to retain its shape while cooling.

Working in batches, repeat with the rest of the batter.

Homemade Fortune Cookies
Makes 14 cookies

1 egg white
2 Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp vanilla
¼ cup flour
Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease two baking sheets.

Write or print fortunes on strips of paper about 3 inches long and ½ inch wide.

In a medium bowl, beat egg white, sugar, and vanilla until foamy but not stiff. Sift flour and salt over the bowl, and fold until incorporated. Gently fold in the melted butter until smooth.

Drop 1 ½ teaspoons of the batter in three places on one baking sheet. Tilt the pan (or use an offset spatula) to spread batter into very thin 3-inch diameter circles.

Bake for 4-5 minutes, until golden brown around the edges, but pale in the middle. Remove from the oven and immediately place fortune paper in the middle of the cookie. Fold cookie in half; press corners to seal. Bend in half to bring the points together. Place, points down, into a mini muffin pan to retain its shape while cooling.

Working in batches, repeat with the rest of the batter. Prepare batter on a baking sheet while the other one is in the oven. Be careful not to bake too many at a time, as the cookies must be folded while hot.