Vanilla Tuile Fortune Cookies Are Sweet Omen

This is the 11th in our monthlong series, 12 Days of Cookies, featuring classic and inventive recipes from across the country.

Thank goodness for the week between Christmas and New Year's, when we–and our ovens–take a breather.

But when it's time to chill the Champagne and stock up on confetti, we know which recipe will break our baking fast: vanilla-scented tuile fortune cookies, each one containing a custom fortune for our New Year's guests (see the recipe).

We nabbed the idea from Jackie Sappington, who runs The Country Cat in Portland, Oregon, with her husband Adam (she handles pastry while he runs savory). Her recipe is simple: Consisting of only five ingredients, it requires just a half hour and a bit of finesse to mold the hot tuiles into the classic fortune cookie shape.

We might enjoy crafting the fortunes even more than making the sugary folds that house them. You can dream up your messages ahead of time, or ask your guests to write one down at the beginning of the night, then tuck them into the cookies right before passing them out.

To get the creative juices flowing, Tasting Table's editors have penned a few messages to you, our dear readers (see the slide show of fortunes).