The Forge Bakery - Barovian Recipes & Culinary Lore

Mystical cookies that seem to hold secrets within their crisp shells. Each bite reveals a different flavor, just as each reading reveals a different path.

The Story

Ah, these cookies! They bring back such memories of my grandmother's tent, filled with the scent of cinnamon and the rustling of Tarokka cards. I was just a young girl when she first taught me to make them, her weathered hands guiding mine as we folded the dough. 'The future is like these cookies,' she would say, 'sweet on the outside, but the true meaning lies within.' I remember how she'd make me practice writing fortunes for hours, telling me that each word had to be chosen with care, as if it were a spell. 'A fortune cookie is a promise,' she'd say, 'and we Vistani never break our promises.' I've been making them ever since, though I must admit, my fortunes aren't quite as accurate as hers were. Once, I predicted a customer would find true love, and they ended up adopting three cats instead. But who's to say that wasn't their true love? The cards work in mysterious ways, after all.

These cookies are a traditional Vistani recipe, passed down through generations of fortune tellers. It's said that the first batch was created by Madame Eva herself, using ingredients gathered under the light of a full moon. I've added my own touch to the recipe over the years, but the basic magic remains the same.

Ingredients

•2 cups all-purpose flour
•1 cup sugar
•1/2 cup butter, softened
•2 large eggs
•1 tsp vanilla extract
•1/2 tsp almond extract
•1/4 tsp salt
•1/4 cup milk
•Fortune slips (small pieces of paper with cryptic messages)
•A pinch of ground cinnamon (for the 'mystical' aroma)

Instructions

1.Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C), as if preparing for a ritual under the Barovian moon
2.Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, like clouds over the Svalich Woods
3.Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition
4.Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts, their scents mingling like the mists of Barovia
5.Gradually mix in the flour and salt, folding as if gathering the threads of fate
6.Add milk to create a smooth batter, as smooth as the lies of a Vistani fortune
7.Place small spoonfuls of batter on a parchment-lined baking sheet
8.Quickly place a fortune slip in the center of each cookie and fold the edges over
9.Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown, like the setting sun over Castle Ravenloft
10.Let cool completely before serving, allowing the fortunes to settle within