A perfect treat for breakfast on a slow morning…!
Madeline batter whips up quickly, bakes up just as fast and provides that perfect, not quite a cake and not quite a cookie and not very sweet treat to have with breakfast.
Breakfast around these parts tends to be a banana and juice and a bit more fruit for Mei, if we don’t share a cup of yogurt, a bowl of cereal and a cup of tea for me and about 900 gallons of coffee for the husband unit, so it is pretty awesome when we make scones, madelines or some kind of savory bread (ie. banana or zucchini) to accompany our breakfast instead. And since we tend to share these treats with our friends and neighbors, they go quickly!
soon to be orange sugar!
I made these orange flavored ones for Mei’s godparents when they were visiting and needless to say, they didn’t last til the next morning and we had to hide them from her godmother who didn’t want to eat “too many”…!
orange sugar!
I wasn’t looking to create that tall bump that is one of the defining features of madelines, so I chose not to chill the batter and pans ahead of time and just indulge in what I knew would be tasty … and it’s a good thing too since our guests were usually starting their second cup of coffee by the time Mei and I woke up and were ready to do some quick baking for breakfast.
For those that aren’t familiar with madelines, these are truly in a column of their own, being not quite a cookie and not quite a cake and rather dry by nature – they are prefect for dunking in your morning “fill-in-the-blank” and just darn tasty! I have made a couple varieties before, once for French Fridays that was honey spiced, chocolate and also “regular” which has a touch of lemon zest in them – as you can see, you can put almost anything in them and every single variety is as tasty as the one before!
Ingredients: makes 12 large or 36 mini madelines
- 3/4 C all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 C sugar
- grated zest of one large orange
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Whisk together the flour & baking powder, set aside.
Working in a mixer bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment (you can make this batter easily with a handheld mixer or just a whisk, if you prefer), add the eggs to the bowl and beat until the mixture is light, fluffy and thickened, about 2 minutes; beat in the vanilla. Switch to a rubber spatula and very gently fold in the dry ingredients followed by the melted butter. Spoon the batter into buttered-and-floured madeleine molds.
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds (or 36 mini-molds), dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. If you have a nonstick madeleine mold, butter and flour it or give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. (If your pan is silicone, you can leave it as is.) Place the pan on a baking sheet.
Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one. Bake the large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes and the minis for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the madeleines are golden and the tops spring back when prodded gently. Remove the pan from the oven and release the madeleines from the molds by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any reluctant madeleines from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just-warm or room temperature.
