Lemon Madeleines

I am happy to report that today I began my adventure in madeleines.  I picked a recipe from one of my favorite new cookbooks Martha Stewart's Cookies.  

I love this book, it is full of fantastic photos and the chapters are divided by the texture of the cookie.  My favorite chapters are titled soft and chewy, rich and dense and crisp and crunchy.  The lemon madeleine recipe was from the cakey and tender chapter.   I also love that the table of contents section has each cookie listed with a photo.  I love this I wish all cookbooks did this.

I was surprised how few ingredients were needed and how easy the madeleines were to make.  I also got to try out a new tool that I purchased a few months ago, the Williams Sonoma batter dispenser which I loved.  It made getting the batter into the tiny little wells on the madeline pan so easy.  I can't wait to try it out when making cupcakes.  

Lemon Madeleines 

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 coarse salt

3 large eggs plus 2 large egg yokes

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 T finely grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

2 T lemon juice (1 lemon)

3/4 c unsalted butter melted, plus more for pans

confectioner's sugar for dusting (optional)

1-Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into bowl.

2-Put egg, egg yolks, granulated sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest and juice in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on medium-high speed until pale and thickened, about 5 minutes. Mix in butter. Using a spatula, fold flour mixture into egg mixture. Let batter rest 30 minutes.

3-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter two madeleine pans.

4-Pour batter into prepared pans, filling the molds three quarters full.  Bake cookies, rotating pans halfway through, until edges are crisp and golden, 7 to 8 minutes.  Let cookies cool slightly in pans on wire racks. Invert and unmold. Dust with confectioner's sugar if desired.  Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 day.  

Lessons learned from the first madeleine experiment-

Most recipes make 2 dozen cookies.  So I need to buy another pan or cut the recipe in half. 

Use regular salt instead of coarse salt. The coarse salt did not mix in well.

I think I am going to have such fun making madeleines. 

Chocolate Madeleines

For my first venture I used the Chocolate Madeleines recipe out of the Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking cookbook (my favorite baking cookbook). They turned out delicious! The only thing I would do differently is actually wait for the melted butter to come completely to room temperature before brushing into the pan. I didn't and it made them less pretty. They were still great (and its true, you really should eat them fresh and warm)! You know why I love these so much? The perfect mixture of crispy and moist cake. Thats why I'm doing the madeleine experiment. 1/3 Cup flour
1/4 Cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 Large eggs
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 Tblsp unsalted butter, melted & cooled
Confectioners' sugar for dusting
(my sous chef and little sis)

Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat the oven to 375 F. Using a pastry brush, heavily brush room-temperature butter over each of the 12 molds in a madeleine pan, carefully buttering every ridge. Dust the molds with flour, tilting the pan to coat the surfaces evenly. Turn the pan upside down, tap it gently, and discard excess flour.

Sift together the flour and cocoa powder onto a sheet of parchment (baking) paper or onto a plate. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, granulated sugar, and salt. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 mins. Beat in the vanilla. Sprinkle the sifted flour mixture over the egg mixture and mix on low speed to incorporate. Remove bowl from mixer.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in half of the melted butter just until blended. Fold in the remaining butter.

Divide the batter among the prepared molds, spooning a heaping tablespoon of batter in each. Bake the cookies until the tops spring back when lightly touched, about 12 mins.

Remove the pan from the oven, invert it over a wire rack, and rap the pan on the rack to release the madeleines. If any of the cookies stick, use your fingers to loosen the edges, being careful not to touch the hot pan, and invert and rap again.

Let cool on the rack for 10 mins. Using a fine-mess sieve dust the shell-patterned tops with the confectioners' sugar and serve. Alternatively, cover with plastic wrap and store at room temp for up to 2 days. Before serving, heat the cookies in a 250 F oven until warm, then dust with the confectioners' sugar. Enjoy!