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:

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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.

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