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     Today's Friday Fave post came about because of a few things: 

1. Tomorrow, September 29th is Confucius Day.  Finding this out made me think of all of those Chinese Proverbs that are always so wise and may or may not have been something said by Confucius.  
2. That made me think of fortunes in fortune cookies that sometimes have proverbs written on them. 
3. I have a fortune cookie kit that my son gave to me a few years ago that I have never used.  But, when I saw the contestants on the Great British Bake off make fortune cookies, I decided that I should give it a try. 
4. Even though fortune cookies aren't really Chinese, they are a very fun part of a Chinese meal. It is thought that David Jung, a restaurant owner in LA, invented them back in 1920.  Until the 1960s, fortune cookies were handmade until a machine was invented to automate the process. 
5. And, even though fortune cookies aren't really Asian, Alicia just put up our newest podcast about the book to film title, Crazy Rich Asians  on From Cover to Reel! They could be a good snack while reading or watching this movie! 

     Of course, the best part of the fortune cookie is the fortune! I asked my girls for fortunes that they would like to see, and I got a couple of good ones from them.  Also, the kit comes with over 100 fortunes, and some are pretty good, depending on the type you want, serious, romantic, funny, etc.

    The recipe for fortune cookies is very simple.  Be prepared to have burnt fingertips as you shape the cookies.  

Fortune Cookies

     Depending on your oven, you may have to play with the time and temperature for your cookies.  Some of my cookies ended up nice and crispy with that nice snap.  But some were a little too soft. So, it is trial and error I guess.  
     Of course, if you don't want to make your own cookies, but want the personalized fortunes, you can purchase them and pull out the fortunes carefully and add your own. 
     Happy Confucius Day! And be sure to check out the podcast!  It is extra good because my son-in-law  is partnering with Alicia this week and they do a great job together! 

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      Because Maddy tries hard to stick to a vegan diet, when I cook for our family I try to be conscious about including things that she can eat in the menu, but it isn't always easy for me to come up with vegan ideas other than salads! For example, last night we had company over for dinner.  The main dish was a family favorite chicken enchilada casserole.  (I posted a crock pot version of it here.) So, that wasn't something she could eat.  I also made a cabbage salad that had onions, almonds, mandarin oranges and ramen in it.  It was delicious and definitely vegan, something she could eat.  For dessert we had pumpkin pie, so she couldn't eat that.  I wasn't sure if everyone liked pumpkin pie, so I decided to make No-Bake Cookies as an option.  But, as I started to make them, I realized that I had used all of the canned milk when I made the pies.  What I did have was canned coconut milk, so that got me to thinking that I could turn this recipe vegan for Maddy's sake, plus it would be something everyone else could enjoy as well. 
     I substituted the milk with coconut milk, the butter with coconut oil and I added a cup of coconut into the mix.  Maddy buys herself vegan peanut butter.  I don't know what makes peanut butter not be vegan, but I do know it has less sugar in the vegan variety.  But, I used regular peanut butter.  I didn't want to use up all of Maddy's pricey stuff, but if you are died in the wool vegan, that is an option.  Also, you could substitute coconut sugar for the regular sugar.  We didn't have enough for this recipe.   The cookies came out softer than regular no bakes, and even though there is a lot of coconut products in there, there isn't a strong coconut taste.  But, everyone enjoyed them and I hope that you will as well! 

Vegan Coconut No-bake Cookies

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     A while ago, I went on an Oatmeal Cookie quest to find a recipe that my husband would find to be as good as his grandma's.  I don't know that I ever accomplished that magical feat, but my husband was really happy to get to eat a lot of Oatmeal Raisin cookies for awhile.  
     The other day, I was thinking that I should make him another batch.  I was tempted to put chocolate chips in them because that is how I like them.  But, I also like raisins as well.  Then, I came across these! 

     I actually used my favorite Browned Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe, and just substituted the chocolate covered raisins for the regular raisins.  It did change the texture of the recipe a bit I think.  The raisins weren't as prevalent as in the regular recipe.  What you get are these bursts of sweet surprises as you eat the cookies. 

     In case you don't want to go back to my old post, where there is a pdf of the recipe, I am going to post a printable version here! I hope that you enjoy it as much as we did.  I told my son, who is serving a mission in Africa, about this recipe.  He asked me, "Why didn't you think of those before I left?"  Ha Ha!  I promised to make him some when he gets home! 

Chocolate Covered Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Here are more Chocolate Covered Raisin Options: