Show your date you care with a chocolate covered fortune cookie. | Photo courtesy of Bethany Linnenkohl

November seems to be the time of year when Define the Relationship talks, or DTRs, occur more often — temperatures have dropped so people cuddle up and Get Your Roommate a Date events, or GYRADs, happen nearly every weekend. This week’s column is dedicated to just that — dates. At some point in your four years at college, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll ask someone to go on a GYRAD, ask someone to go on a date, be asked to go on a date or maybe even be in a relationship — so the key is to be well-prepared and to do it right because first impressions are hard to reverse.

My primary focus in this column is to give you an idea of how to ask your date in a fun and inventive way. In high school, asking someone of the opposite sex to go to one of the three dances we had all year long was expected to be elaborate; so, for many, it was a daunting task to ask that special person. The majority of people went all out and, to some degree, made a spectacle.

Obviously, a GYRAD or even a date is not that big of a deal in the spectrum of life, but why not have a little fun in asking them? Instead of just buying cupcakes from the grocery store and putting store-bought icing in the shape of five letters and a question mark on top, consider a chocolate covered fortune cookie. They are unique, fun and a thrill to make. Give them a fortune or ask that special someone out on a date.

Ingredients:

-3 egg whites
-3/4 cup white sugar
-1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
-1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/4 teaspoon almond extract
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-2 tablespoons water
-1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Prepare and write your fortunes on small strips of parchment paper. Do not use wax paper as it will melt.

Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer, whip the egg whites and sugar until frothy and thick, about two minutes. Reduce speed to low, and stir in melted butter, vanilla extract, almond extract, flour and water, one at a time, mixing well after each. The batter should have no clumps and should have the consistency of icing. If the batter is too thick, add more water one tablespoon at a time.

With a tablespoon, drop batter onto the cookie sheet and with the back of the spoon, spread the batter around to form an evenly distributed three or four-inch circle. I suggest beginning with making one at a time, until you get the hang of it. Don’t get mad if you mess up once or twice, there’s plenty more batter.

Bake five to seven minutes or until the edges have begun to brown. Remove sheet from oven, count to five to allow the batter to set a little, and then quickly place the fortune on one half of the cookie and fold the cookie in half. Warning: This is where it gets hot. Fold the two ends of the cookie together. Sometimes a thin-rimmed drinking glass can be helpful in shaping the fortune cookie by folding the mid-section of the cookie on the rim of the glass. The glass rim can be helpful in creating the traditional crease in the cookie that results in the air pocket between the two, once flat, sides of the cookie. The rim provides a surface for even pressure that without it, many times results in a misshapen fortune cookie. Hold the two ends together until the cookie hardens enough to retain the desired traditional shape. Sometimes a mug or muffin tin can be useful to put the cookie in to allow it to set.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave by warming it up for 20 seconds, stirring the chocolate and repeating until the chocolate becomes a thin and runny consistency.

Thinly drizzle the chocolate over the fortune cookies with a spoon or with a hand-made parchment paper cone. Place the fortune cookies in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to an hour or until the chocolate sets.