You don’t always expect a sweet treat with your check when dining out unless you’re at a Chinese restaurant. In the US, it is customary that Chinese restaurants give tiny Pac-Man-shaped cookies to the diners before leaving.
Those vanilla-flavored, slightly sweet, crunchy cookies aren’t the most delicious ones available out there, but they are certainly a fun way to end your meal. It’s a nice little fun activity to find out what prophecy or advice your fortune cookie holds.
But are fortune cookies gluten-free?
Let’s find out!
Are Fortune Cookies Gluten-Free?
The only way to find out if fortune cookies are gluten-free or not is to look at the ingredients.
What are Fortune Cookies Made Of?
Unfortunately, we don’t have a universal list of ingredients for fortune cookies. It can vary slightly across different manufacturers. However, the good news is that the variations do not impact the gluten content of fortune cookies. Let’s look at the most widely prevalent lists of fortune cookie ingredients to develop a better understanding.
According to Wikipedia, fortune cookies are made of flour, sugar, vanilla extract, and oil. However, according to a Huffington Post article, fortune cookie dough is made with flour, sugar, starch, and vegetable shortening. Yet another list of fortune cookie ingredients includes flour, sugar, water, and eggs.
Regardless of the combination of ingredients a brand or restaurant chooses to use, their fortune cookies won’t be gluten-free because they all include flour, which is the source of gluten in these sugary treats.
| What is Gluten?For those who may not know, gluten is the common name used for the family of proteins called prolamins. They are naturally found in grains, like wheat, barley, and rye, and are responsible for giving the stretch, softness, and chewy texture to the foods made with these grains. While gluten doesn’t pose any health risk to most people, some may be intolerant to it. They must eliminate gluten from their diets to prevent adverse health effects. |
Frequently Asked Questions
§ Are P.F. Chang’s fortune cookies gluten-free?
While P.F. Chang’s does highlight, on its website, that it distributes more than 52 million fortune cookies every year, the restaurant does not provide a list of its fortune cookies ingredients. So, we cannot confirm if they are gluten-free or not. However, considering that fortune cookies are generally not gluten-free, it can be presumed that the ones offered at P.F. Chang’s are the same.
§ Are Panda Express fortune cookies gluten-free?
Panda Express’ fortune cookies are not gluten-free. According to the allergen menu given on the Panda Express website, they contain wheat.
§ Are Golden Bowl fortune cookies gluten-free?
Golden Bowl is one of the largest manufacturers of fortune cookies. But, sadly, their cookies aren’t gluten-free either, as they contain wheat flour.
§ Are fortune cookies dairy-free?
Yes. Fortune cookies are generally dairy-free.
§ Are fortune cookies vegan?
Fortune cookies can be vegan or non-vegan, depending on the ingredients used. As discussed above, some fortune cookies recipe call for eggs which makes them non-vegan. So, you have to check the label to find out if the fortune cookie you have is vegan-friendly or not.
§ Are fortune cookies vegetarian?
Fortune cookies do not include any ingredients that vegetarians avoid. Hence, they are vegetarian-friendly.
Conclusion
Fortune cookies are not gluten-free. The traditional recipes of these tiny vanilla cookies call for wheat flour, and it seems all the major restaurants and brands that offer fortune cookies follow those recipes.
Hosting a dinner party with gluten-intolerant guests? Make gluten-free fortune cookies at home for some fun. Check out the following video for the gluten-free fortune cookies recipe…
