Madeleine Madness

I love Madeleines.  The first time I made them back in 2005, with the Martha Stewart Lemon Madeleines.  It was at that moment I was hooked.  If you have never had them, they are like little perfect cakes and cookies in rolled into one.

I was then reminded of how much I love them when I went out to dinner at a fancy restaurant in NYC with my step-mom.  (We went to dinner and the ballet, it was a fun night)

So I set out to make my own.  I saw this recipe in the September 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living.  I cut out the page, bought a Madeleine tray and then proceeded to not make the Madeleines for 5 months.

BUT we had a much needed snow day so I took the chance to make my own Madelienes.  

Here's what I did.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Coarse salt

6 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted, plus more, softened, for pans

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon honey

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

I like to put all the ingredients out on the counter.  That way I know if I don't have something BEFORE I 'm half way through the recipe.  This recipe is great because I already had everything on hand to make these, all I really needed was time (it takes two hours to set the batter).  

Directions

1.       Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.

2.       Whisk together eggs and granulated and brown sugars with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Sift flour mixture over top in 2 additions, folding in after each addition. Fold in melted butter in 2 additions, then honey and vanilla. 

      The batter will be very fluffy.  Be careful when you fold in the next set of ingredients.  So you don't loose the height of the eggs.  

 Refrigerate, covered, for at least 2 hours.

I gave myself time to butter the pan and preheat the oven
(but I gave myself too much time I must admit)

3.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let batter stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Generously butter 2 standard-size or 2 mini nonstick or aluminum madeleine pans using a pastry brush.

4.       Transfer batter to a pastry bag, and snip tip to create a 1/2-inch opening. Pipe some batter into molds, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake on middle rack until pale gold, 8 to 11 minutes (6 to 8 minutes for mini madeleines). 

Immediately shake Madeleines out. Wash and rebutter molds. Repeat with remaining batter. Dust baked 

Madeleines with confectioners' sugar.

At this point you could let them cool, or you could do what Jeff and I did and just eat them warm, they

are the best this way I must say.

They were so yummy we ate them all before the went bad (two days is all you get).  What I love about 

this recipe is that you can refrigerate the batter for up to two days, so this could be made for a dinner 

party and cooked right before you serve them.  

What do you think?  Have you ever had Madeleines?  If not are you willing to try them?  I love 

comments, and I always write back.