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ILL-FATED FORTUNE is the first book in the brand-new Magical Fortune Cookie Mysteries by Jennifer J. Chow. And what a great start it is! Filled with tight-knit family, an adorable bunny, magical bakery items and fortune cookies, and murder, the author brings the story to life. Living and working with her mother at their bakery in Pixie, central California, protagonist Felicity Jin has self-doubts about fitting in. Her mother has the magical ability to bake joy into her pastries (like pineapple buns!), as did her maternal female ancestors. And somehow, that ability seems to have skipped Felicity until now. Aside from being a murder mystery, Ill-Fated Fortune is about family, friends, and discovering yourself. I appreciated the ability to get to know the core characters without being overwhelmed by a huge number of them, as sometimes happens with a first in a new series. Besides Felicity, there’s her sweet and caring mom, her best friend, florist Kelvin, and her maybe magical bunny, Whiskers. There are some side characters who I hope show up as featured characters in future books too, namely Detective Sun.
As “luck” would have it, Felicity’s magical powers finally show up in the form of baking fortune cookies and when her personalized fortune predicts a customer’s death shortly before it occurs, Felicity becomes the primary suspect. With Kelvin as her sidekick, she investigates who might have wanted the Fortune Cookie King dead and how he ended up in the dumpster behind her bakery. The author provides a lot of compelling reasons Felicity needs to get involved and I liked how she (mostly) never did anything rash or ran headlong into danger. As it turns out, there were lots of suspects who had issues with the Fortune Cookie King. The plot was nicely paced between the clues and life at the bakery. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next in the series!
I’m always happy to find recipes at the back of cozy mysteries, but Ms. Chow goes a step or two further. She’s included Felicity’s recipe for fortune cookies, flower bouquet tips from Kelvin, and a candle craft from her godmother, for the reader to try at home. I tried my hand at making the fortune cookies and found them super easy to mix up. Baking them requires patience, however, since you can only bake 2, or maybe 3 at a time, and need nimble fingers to form the cookie shape as soon as they are removed from the oven. Still, the flavor was yummy and it was fun to include fortunes for family members to laugh over. Unlike other recipes I’ve browsed, this fortune cookie recipe uses whole eggs and a generous amount of butter, makes makes the flavor richer than generic fortune cookie. As such, the cookie is best consumed shortly after baking, or see my tips in the printable recipe for crisping the leftover cookies up.
Amazon Synopsis
Felicity Jin grew up literally hanging onto Mom’s apron strings in their magical bakery in the quaint town of Pixie, California. Her mother’s enchanted baked goods, including puffy pineapple buns and creamy egg tarts, bring instant joy to all who consume them. Felicity has always been hesitant in the kitchen herself after many failed attempts, but a takeout meal gone wrong inspires her to craft some handmade fortune cookies.
They become so popular that Felicity runs out of generic fortunes and starts making her own personalized predictions. When one customer’s ill-fated fortune results in his murder, Felicity’s suspiciously specific fortune has the police focusing on her as the main culprit. Now Felicity must find a way to turn her luck around and get cleared from suspicion.
A special thanks to Minotaur Books for offering a print copy of ILL-FATED FORTUNE to one lucky winner! Contest ends March 6, 2024 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents only. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)
Makes approximately 34 cookies
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup flour
- Fortune message (optional - be creative!)
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Prepare sheet pan by covering with parchment paper.
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Combine eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Whip together for a few minutes.
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Add in melted butter, vanilla extract, almond extract, and water.
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Mix flour into wet ingredients.
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Use a tablespoon to spoon batter onto the parchment paper, making really thin crepe-like circles about 3 inches in diameter.
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Bake for 7 - 9 minutes. The edges should turn light brown.
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Flip the baked circle with a spatula. (If you are putting in a fortune, slip it in at this point.) Fold the cookie in half and gently touch the golden edges together.
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Place the middle of the cookie on the edge of a cup. Hold it there for three seconds to create a fortune cookie bend.
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Put the shaped fortune cookies into separate spaces in a muffin tin to cool down.
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Bake the cookies two (or three) at a time because you'll have to fold them quickly.
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Use oven gloves if you don't want to singe your fingers.
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I found the cookies baked more evenly if you preheat the baking sheet first before spreading the batter.
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These are best eaten the same day as they soften over time. To crisp up any leftover cookies, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees (F) for 7 to 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. If you've inserted a paper fortune, remove before reheating. My husband actually preferred the twice-baked fortune cookies since they were extra crunchy.
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I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Jennifer,
This looks to be a very good read.
I remember, thanks to you and this recipe, making fortune cookies in high school. What a nice memory for me. Thank you.
Oh, wow! Making fortune cookies in high school? I wouldn’t have even attempted that! Thanks for stopping by!
Ty ! I never thought about making a fortune cookie
I must say that it’s way easier to buy them!
Those would be so fun to make! Looking forward to her new book!
Thank you so much!
Hi, I’m going to have the try the recipe. Thank you.
Great, Linda!
Thanks again for highlighting Ill-Fated Fortune, Kim! (And thanks for the crisping tips! The softer version reminds me a little of madeleines.)
You’re very welcome, Jen! It’s always a pleasure hosting you on the blog and sharing your books!
Your cookies look great! How did you keep from burning your fingers? I’ve tried in the past and found that two cookies at a time works best for me but maybe preheating the pan is the step I was missing.
Thanks!
I’ll have to admit that my fingers did get quite toasty at times 🙂 I did two cookies for the first few baking cycles and once I got the hang of it, managed three at a time. But, by that point I wasn’t inserting fortunes either, which slows down the process.