Lavender Madeleines
Madeleine cookies are fairly new to my palate; I’ve never had one before. A fellow blogger sent me some after being a lucky winner in her blog. One taste of them and I was hooked. I set out to find me recipes and a pan so I could make these at home. I was lucky to happen upon one and for so cheap! I set forth to make some madeleines. I chose this recipe as my first batch, and with beginner’s luck, I had some beautiful humps. We all loved them, especially my 14-month-old! He has quite a palate for these French cookies; he just can’t get enough of them!
Lavender Madeleines
5 Tb. Butter
1 Tb. edible lavender
¾ cup flour
½ tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
Grated zest of half a lemon
2 Tb. honey
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Melt the butter with the lavender and let sit for 15 minutes to infuse. Strain but keep half of the lavender in with butter, or discard the whole amount. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Mix together in another bowl the sugar and lemon zest with your fingers. Working with a stand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, and lemon zest until pale and thick, about 3 minutes. Add the honey and vanilla and beat for one minute more. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently incorporate the dry ingredients. Fold in the butter. Refrigerate the batter at least 2 hours or up to 3 days (the longer chill helps form the hump that is characteristic of the madeleines). Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter and flour your madeleine molds and divide the batter evenly. Bake about 8-10 minutes* until they are golden brown. Remove from pan, gently prying them if needed. Let cool; dust with powdered sugar. Best eaten the day they are made.
~A recipe by Dorie Greenspan, from Baking: From My Home to Yours. Photography by myself.
*My little note: I chilled my batter overnight and baked them at 350 degrees F for about 7 to 8 minutes. They do not take very long.
