Madeleines are cookies with a pound cake consistency and a light, buttery lemon flavor. Madeleines originated in France where they were originally baked as little cakes in aspic moulds. Today, there are numerous flavor combinations to this classic cookie but the classic ones are flavored with lemon zest.
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs, room temperature
Butter to brush pans
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and blend together using a whisk. Set aside. Melt the butter and allow it to cool slightly.
Beat the eggs and sugar together for 10 minutes until the mixture becomes pale and forms ribbons when the beater is lifted. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla. Using a spatula, fold in one third of the flour, making sure to blend it all the flour. Repeat for remaining two thirds. You want to fold it to keep as much air as possible in the mixture.
Add 1/4 of the batter into the melted butter. Using a whisk, fully incorporate the batter into the butter. Add the remaining batter and mix together. The batter is very thick and shiny. Cover the batter for 30 minutes and refrigerate. This will thicken the batter a bit more.
While the batter is resting, preheat the oven to 350°F and, using a pastry brush, brush the madeleine pans with melted butter. Use a tablespoon to scoop some batter and place into the center of the madeleine tray. You do not need to spread it out. Bake for 12 minutes until golden brown. Turn over the madeleine tray and drop them onto a wire rack to cool.
Decorate with confectioners’ sugar. These cookies dry out very quickly, so I would not recommend using them in any cookie exchanges unless you are consuming them that same day.
Makes 20 cookies.
Patataki 