There are many theories where the fortune cookies first appeared, many people say they started in San Francisco or Los Angeles in the mid 1910’s. Other people say that they originated in the mid 1800’s in northern California, because the Chinese immigrants wanted to celebrate the moon festival, a holy day, where they would give special cakes with messages inside, but seeing they had only biscuits, they improvised and created the fortune cookie.
What we do know for certain is that, although they are served almost exclusively in Chinese restaurants abroad, fortune cookies are almost unknown in China. The places that serve them call them “Genuine American Fortune Cookies”.
