Not too long ago the TWD bakers made madeleines. At the time, I didn’t have a madeleine pan and wasn’t able to participate. Once I saw everyone’s posts and how cute the madeleines were, however, I had to run out and grab a pan to give these a try! I’ve never had a madeleine before so I was anxious to see if they tasted as good as they looked!
I love how simple the recipe is and how few ingredients there are. The only problem for me is that the dough needs to refrigerate for at least 3 hours before they can be baked and I’m not the most patient person in the world 🙂 I survived the wait, though, and my madeleines went in the oven. They turned out just as cute as I’d hoped they would and I looked forward to tasting them. As soon as they’d cooled some, I tried one that was just barely warm. I really liked it! They’re very light with just the right texture to make me happy. I also loved the lemon flavor. It wasn’t overpowering at all! I will say, however, that I ended up bringing these into work and they weren’t incredibly well received. Generally when I bring things into work they disappear very quickly. The madeleines lingered on the counter for a while and I ended up having to throw the last two away after two days because they were getting fairly hard. Oh well, I guess you can’t please everyone all the time! I still loved them and will definitely make them again!
By Tracey
Madeleines
from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Directions:
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Working in a mixer bowl, or in a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl. Working with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until pale, thick and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines.
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 F. Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds or up to 36 mini madeleine molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pan(s) on a baking sheet.
Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Don’t worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven’s heat will take care of that. Bake large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes, and minis for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove the pan(s) from the oven and release the madeleines from the molds by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any recalcitrant madeleines from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.
