my first madeleines

 

I was at Starbucks a few months ago and grabbed a pack of Madeleines to go along with my latte. Oh my goodness, it was love at first bite. A delicate cookie/cake with just a hint of lemon...I was hooked. I purchased a few more packs to use in the treat bags for our beach trip. My mom, sister and I enjoyed them with our coffee every morning.

While we were still at the beach, I ordered myself some madeleine pans and this book from Amazon. I wanted to be able to bake this new-found love of mine right at home.  Once my goodies arrived, I spent some time reading  recipes and trying to decide which variety to bake first. In the end, I settled on a recipe I found online from Lulu the Baker...Chocolate-Flecked, Orange-Scented Madeleines.  Long name, but an absolutely amazing cookie {or cake?}. The orange flavor is delicate and there's just enough chocolate to taste. These are not overly sweet, so a sprinkle of powdered sugar is a must!

Madeleines are really simple to make, every bit as simple as making shortbread. I only ran into one problem, which may be why most recipes only make 24 madeleines, as opposed to the 36 this recipe yields. By the time I got the 3rd pan into the oven, the butter in the batter had caused the batter to thicken. It was not as easy to scoop into the pan and the last batch did not spread as well. They were still just as tasty though. I'm sure I'll make this recipe again and plan to keep a warm towel wrapped around the mixing bowl...that should work just fine.

Get the recipe here…