A challenge: Fortune cookies and natural food coloring

[JoyM]

OK, I have a clever idea for this year's church auction -- I'm going to make fortune cookies with funny little fortunes. (Like "You will bid on item #12," and "You will join several committees this year." OK, I think they're funny, anyway.)

So, I found a recipe for fortune cookies, and they look pretty easy to make, but the problem is, they're kind of dull. I want to spice them up. I'm thinking extracts -- mint, almond, orange? Anyone have any opinions?

I'm also thinking color would be nice, but I don't like to use artifical ingredients like those creepy food colors. Can anyone think of anything that would color them without tasting awful? (e.g., I'd add beet juice, which would certainly color them, but I don't think it would taste too great.) Grape juice? Some sort of fruit syrups?

[LisaAZ]

I am so not creeped out by food coloring, but even at that, why not just buy some "natural" food coloring? Fruit syrups and such would probably throw your recipe way off, and beet flavored cookies are so last year :)

[Non Cognomina]

I agree with LisaAZ about the natural food coloring. You can find them in larger natural/organic groceries. Some come in gel or paste form, which will add less liquid to the recipe.

For flavors, almond or orange are twists not too far off the flavor profile. If it's autumn, some cinnamon or nutmeg would be nice.

By the way, did you know the fortune cookie was invented in San Francisco? Only in the past decade have they been exported to China!

[cheryl_h]

A Chinese restaurant I've eaten at has chocolate fortune cookies. They still taste like cardboard to me, but the chocolate color and flavor might appeal to some.

[Sam Ottawa]

If you're nervous about colouring the cookies themselves, another option would be to print your fortunes on vibrantly coloured paper and leave a little "tail" sticking out of the cookie so that the colour is visible.

[Jesdamala]

Chocolate dipped fortune cookies? White chocolate dipped? Any other 'candy' type coatings to dip or partially dip the cookies in? Like the idea of printing on colored paper and having a bit stick out.

[JoyM]

Hey, thanks, everyone. I didn't know that natural food colorings existed, although I should have thought of it. It was dumb of me not to have poked around at the local Whole Foods and looked for something like that before I posted here, but if I had I never would have found out that beet-flavored cookies had gone out of style. ;-)

And I love the idea of dipping them in something -- that certainly would make them more interesting. I'm afraid that no matter the color or flavorings I use, they will still taste pretty dull, but even cardboard tastes good when you dip in in chocolate, right?