Fortune Cookies

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet liberally with cooking spray. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat; set aside. In a bowl combine egg whites and sugar; beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add flour and salt and beat until combined. Add butter, heavy cream, and almond extract and beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Pour 1 Tbs of batter onto half of baking sheet and spread with the back of a spoon into a thin 5" circle; repeat on either half of sheet. Bake until edges of cookies turn golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove baking sheet to a heat resistant surface. Working as quickly as possible, slide a spatula (an offset spatula works best) under one of the cookies. Lift it up and place it on a clean kitchen towel. Using your fingers, fold the cookie in half, pinching the top together to form a loose semicircle. Hold the cookie with your index fingers inserted at each open end and slide your thumbs together along the bottom line. Press into the center of the cookie while bending the two open ends together and down to form the shape of a fortune cookie. This whole process should take about 10 seconds. Once the cookie hardens, which begins to happen almost immediately, you cannot fold it. Place the fortune cookie on the kitchen towel to cool and shape the second cookie. Repeat until all the batter is used up. To speed up the process, bake 4 cookies at a time, staggering 2 cookie sheets by 4 minutes to give you time to shape.. To avoid wasting batter, practice folding with a circle of paper first. Write message on a long strip of sturdy art paper, such as Japanese moriki. Thread fortune through cookie when it has cooled. Good luck!