The Year of the Dragon (which is the only mythical animal portrayed in the Chinese Calendar) is particularly special for us at It's a Simple Life as our eldest child was born in this year. Those born with the Dragon sign are said to embody the ability to soar to the highest mountains and dive to the deepest depths of the sea. Within them lies the balance to exist on land and in water. What a beautiful trait to have the gift to shape shift from one element to the other.......have you ever seen this at work within 'Dragons' you may know? When my son was young, around 1 1/2-2 years old he had no fear of water and literally could go from land to water without fear or question. It was an amazing sight to be next to him, paddling and floating along as if he had done it for eons. I guess, maybe he had!
Other traits consistent with The Dragon, and which I can attest to with my own Dragon are: uninhibited, a night owl, following rules that are deemed acceptable my them while breaking ones that are seen otherwise, a wonderful ally, charismatic but impulsive, generous but egotistical, and fiercely independent.
Today, in honor of this New Year celebration we have made fortune cookies. A traditional Chinese gift and treat that offers a notion of good fortune and tidings for the receiver. These cookies are hot to handle so please be careful if working with small children. The mixing and making of the fortunes is a good place to have those wee ones help out, and then the eating of course!
Chinese New Year Fortune Cookies
makes about 12-16 cookies
*Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
Ingredients::
2 egg whites
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
pinch of salt
2 tbsp. of water
*little strips of paper with messages to use as your fortunes*
First, make your fortunes to go inside your cookies
To make your batter, begin by whisking your egg whites until foamy
Now, whisk in your flour, powdered sugar, almond extract, salt and water until
it makes a nice smooth batter.
Pour your batter by the tablespoonful onto your prepared cookie sheet. (I placed a piece of parchment down and greased the top because the recipe called for a silicone mat which I did not have). The recipe also suggests pouring just two cookies at a time as once your pour the batter you're to spread it around until it forms a 4 inch circle.
Next, bake from a few minutes, until the edges are nice and golden. Lay your fortune
across the top of the cookie,
Fold your cookie in half. They are very hot so please be careful and do not allow little
hands to touch!
Next, fold the pointed ends together. I found this takes a little practice......and patience.
Some will fold nicely, others won't. It depends on perfect baking time and
batter consistency. I placed the folded cookies into a muffin tin to help them retain their shape.
The Dragon is a symbol of power. How does this feel to you? What types of power and energy do you put towards your life, your friends, your family? Do you allow your soft spots to show and be vulnerable or are you always guarded? Maybe there is an unbalance between what you should be 'doing' and the energy that you're putting elsewhere.......or maybe you'd like to 'do' something but can't muster the power, the courage, the energy. Embrace this New Year......embrace the Year of the Dragon and allow this to be the year to enable to your heart to bear it's gifts into reality.
I wish you a Happy New Year! Let me know what you're wishes are for this Year of the Dragon.
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