Monday, August 27, 2012

A Most Delicious Breakfast

Madeleines are a shell-shaped sponge cake originating in France and have a reputation for being a light dessert served with berries or as a treat with a cup of tea.
In my house, they are breakfast!  Warm madeleines before school?!  Who would want anything else?
I use the recipe straight from Martha Stewart's Cookies and it has never failed me.




Lemon Madeleines

1 1/2 cups sifted cake-flour (NOT self-rising)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
3 large eggs AND 2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup unsalted butter, plus more for pan
Confectioners' sugar for dusting (a MUST!)

1.  Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.  Set aside.
2.  Put eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on medium-high until pale and thickened, about 5 minutes (the longer you mix and the lighter in color and thicker the batter, the lighter your madeleine will be---melt in your mouth!)  Using a spatula, fold flour mixture into egg mixture.  Let batter rest 30 minutes (but I never do!)
3.  Preheat oven to 350 and butter your madeleine pan (but I usually do this first as I never wait my 30 minutes.)
4.  Pour batter into prepared pan, filling the molds 3/4 full.  Bake cookies, rotating pan halfway through, until edges are crisp and golden, 7-8 minutes.  Let cookies cool slightly in pan on wire rack.  Invert and unmold.  Dust with confectioners' sugar.  Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 day.
. . . . but instead of storing them, they are BEST SHARED!  Warm with the children; warm with best friends over a cup of coffee and good conversation.
I was hesitant to buy the molded pan because I wasn't sure how often I would make the madeleines.  I am sooooooo glad I bought the pan---I make them all the time.
Happy-ness is warm madeleines!!  Come over and we shall bake some together!!!!  :-)



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