Madeleines

 I would have to say these cookies were baked about 1 minute more than they should have been.  I set the timer to 10 minutes which is 1 minute shorter than the short end of the baking time.  I still lost.  It doesn't matter though because these little beauties were delicious.  The recipe makes 12.  I had 3 before I knew what hit me.


My dad got me a Madeleine pan a couple of years ago and I have yet to make the cookies.  They were a favorite of my in France.  I adore seeing them in stores but in the US they are never the same as my French memories.  Sigh! I think that will always be the way.  These however were quite good, not like France but I will take it.  These cookies are super easy to put together. You can even make the dough days in advance and just pop them in the oven for a quick dessert.  The only problem is you need a special pan.  For this though I would say it is worth it. 

Madeleines were made famous by Marcel Proust (1871-1922) in his autobiographical novel À la recherche du temps perdu, translated Remembrance of Things Past, Volume 1, Swann's Way. This novel was left unfinished upon his death, and his brothers published the book in 1923. He wrote:

She sent for one of those squat plump little cakes called "petites madeleines," which look as though they had been molded in the fluted valve of a scallop shell … I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure invaded my senses …

And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray … when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Leonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane …. and the whole of Combray and its surroundings, taking shape and solidity, sprang into being, town and garden alike, from my cup of tea.

 Source

Madeleines

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

6016952

Ingredients (12 cookies)

• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (6 Tbsp), melted and cooled

Instructions

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a mixer bowl combine the sugar and lemon juice. Once moist, add the eggs one at a time. Beat on medium high speed until pale, think and light, about 2-3 minutes. Add in vanilla.

With a rubber spatula fold in the flour mixture. Once combined add in the melted butter, folding gently.

Butter 12 full-sized Madeleine molds. Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Cover the pan and place in refrigerator for 3 hours or up to 2 days.

When ready to bake preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack.

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