Fortune Cookie Generator

If you’ve ever been to a Chinese restaurant in the United States, you likely received a fortune cookie at the end of your meal that contained a scrap of paper with a printed “fortune” to give you guidance and wisdom. So, you might be surprised to learn that fortune cookies actually originated in Japan!

Called “fortune crackers” and made with sesame and miso, this tradition hails back to the 1870s, according to History.com. ^[1] In fact, reports say that the first restaurant to serve fortune cookies in the U.S. was the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

Over time, the flavors changed, and the cookies are now typically made with butter and vanilla. Chinese Americans adopted the tradition when Japanese bakeries and restaurants closed during WWII, as Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps. Now, fortune cookies are an iconic dessert in Chinese American restaurants.