Image by JCarrot

(About 16 cookies) These almond-flavored wafers are not an authentic Chinese food, but were created by an enterprising San Francisco restaurateur who was looking for a way to keep his patrons occupied while they waited for the bill. You will need to prepare fortunes on small strips of paper.

To help you get started, here are a few sample sayings:

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Happy Purim!

The highest form of wisdom is kindness. -– Talmud Berachot 17a

The beginning of wisdom is to desire it. -– Solomon Ibn Gabirol

Wisdom is to the soul as food is to the body — Abraham Ibn Ezra

Happy is he who performs a good deed; for he may tip the scales for himself and the world. -– Talmud Kiddushin 40:2

A man without friends is like a left hand without a right. -– Ibn Gabriol

6 tablespoons (about 5) egg whites

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet.

2) In a food processor or blender, process the egg whites for 30 seconds. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. (This may also be done by hand.)

3) Drop by tablespoonfuls, 5-inches apart, onto the prepared baking sheet. (3 to 4 at a time.) Bake until the edges of the cookies begin to color, 13 to 15 minutes.

4) Remove from the oven, immediately place a fortune in the center of each cookie, fold in half, then pinch the ends together, holding for 1 minute to maintain the shape. (If the cookies harden too much to bend, return to the oven for a few moments.) Let cool.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount