Taste of the Orient

I am so lucky to have such great friends and family who are amazing cooks and bakers! Recently, my friend Lynn tried out some fabulous Desserts. I have to admit, I had recently considered making fortune cookies but was a little intimidated by the process. However, Lynn is fearless in the Kitchen and will take on any recipe!

Double Mango Pudding

Orange mangoes symbolize gold and riches. Prepare and chill pudding the night before. Whip the cream just

before serving, and allow guests to dollop some on their own desserts.

3 mangoes, peeled and divided

2 1/4 cups water, divided

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup whipping cream

1. Coarsely chop 2 mangoes. Dice the remaining mango.

2. Combine coarsely chopped mangoes and 1/4 cup water in a blender; process until smooth. Press puree

through a fine sieve over a bowl; discard solids.

3. Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add sugar to pan, stirring until dissolved. Remove from heat. Stir in the remaining 1 1/4 cups water. Sprinkle unflavored gelatin over water in the saucepan; let stand 1minute. Add the mango puree, stirring with a whisk. Pour the mixture evenly into each of 8 (6-ounce) ramekins or custard cups. Cover and chill overnight or until set. Top evenly with diced mango.

4. Place cream in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Serve with pudding.

Cooking Light - 2009

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 ramekin and 1 tablespoon whipped cream)

Fortune Cookies 

• 1 egg white
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a cookie sheet. Write fortunes on strips of paper about 4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Generously grease 2 cookie sheets.

2. Mix the egg white and vanilla until foamy but not stiff. Sift the flour, salt, and sugar and blend into the egg white mixture.

3. Place teaspoonfuls of the batter at least 4 inches apart on one of the prepared cookie sheets. Tilt the sheet to move the batter into round shapes about 3 inches in diameter. Be careful to make batter as round and even as possible. Do not make too many, because the cookie have to be really hot to form them and once they cool it is too late. Start with 2 or 3 to a sheet and see how many you can do.

4. Bake for 5 minutes or until cookie has turned a golden color 1/2 inch wide around the outer edge of the circle. The center will remain pale. While one sheet is baking, prepare the other.

5. Remove from oven and quickly move cookie with a wide spatula and place upside down on a wooden board. Quickly place the fortune on the cookie, close to the middle and fold the cookie in half. Place the folded edge across the rim of a measuring cup and pull the pointed edges down, one on the inside of the
cup and one on the outside. Place folded cookies into the cups of a muffin tin or egg carton to hold their shape until firm.
www.Allrecipes.com

makes 1 dozen