Oh Là Là! J'adore Madeleines!

It's funny, I love nothing more than making interesting and flavorful desserts, but what I crave most often are much simpler treats.  Nine times out of ten I reach for a madeleine or a shortbread cookie before I reach for a chocolate chip cookie or a slice of cheesecake.  I even prefer Trefoils Girl Scout cookies over the über popular Thin Mints.

The first time I ever tasted a madeleine was at Starbucks...you know...those perfect little packages of three right by the register...I was hooked at first bite.  I still remember thinking to myself OH MY!! THESE ARE FREAKING AMAZING!! They were flawless...buttery, spongey and delicate. The perfect compliment to my high calorie latte.  I was so obsessed that I quickly went online and purchased a perfectly scalloped pan (similar) and began searching...and searching...and searching for the perfect recipe, but I have always been unsuccessful.  My previous attempts were either too cakey or too dense. It was driving me crazy, I just couldn't get the right texture and flavor.

Madeleine Mise en Place and
Blending of Sugar, Eggs, Milk & Vanilla

I am happy to say that my search for the perfect madeleine recipe finally came to an end while browsing through my school's online recipe catalogue.  These perfect little sponge cakes require eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla, flour and melted butter.

Addition and Blending of the Sifted Flour and Melted Butter

Take care to aerate the ingredients at each step because the batter needs to stay light and fluffy.  I chose to try the old school method of using a whisk to combine the eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla.  By the end my arms were dying, but I'll take a little workout where I can get it.  Next, I folded in the sifted flour until just combined then added the melted butter and folded some more.  

Piping and Baking

So here's the trick to madeleine batter...chill in the fridge for a bit before you fill the buttered and floured molds or muffin tins.  This trick was a happy accident because the recipe actually did not call for chill time.

While the first batch was baking I placed the remaining batter in the fridge while my husband and I had dinner.  When I pulled the first batch from the oven I was kind of disappointed because they were too dense.  Totally bummed that my search for the perfect recipe hadn't ended here, I pulled the remaining batter from the fridge and proceeded to bake my second batch....SUCCESS!! They were delicate, moist and spongey...just like those first madeleines I tasted so many years ago.  I can't tell you how happy I was.

Spongey, Moist and Dusted with Powdered Sugar

The flavor of madeleines can be elevated by dusting with powdered sugar like I've done above, dipped in chocolate or filled with your favorite curd as seen here by Rachel Khoo in an episode of my favorite cooking show The Little Paris Kitchen, which can also be found in her cookbook by the same name. (Mobile users click here to view the video for her Madeleines à la Crème au Citron)

So tell me, do your sweets need to be over the top or are you a secret plain Jane like me?  I would also love to hear what dessert stopped you in your tracks the first time you tasted it.  Coming up very soon I will be doing a post on my next assignment...puff pastry...eek!! Wish me luck!

Happy Baking,
Dani xoxo

Easy-Peasy Cookies

Easy-Peasy Banana Spice Cookies

So I wanted to share this super easy recipe with you (emphasis on easy). By no means is this a fancy pastry school recipe, but it's something that you can throw together at a moments notice. They would be great for a hostess gift or on those days it's your kid's turn to bring a sweet treat to school. 

Recently my friends and I decided to enjoy an outdoor showing of Edward Scissorhands hosted by Street Food Cinema, which is this great pairing of food trucks and movies in the park...the perfect pairing considering the warm summer nights we have been experiencing.  What made this event even better was that we were able to bring our own snacks and drinks to enjoy during the movie so I whipped up a batch of these Easy-Peasy Cookies and off we went.

Feel free to experiment with flavors here...like with choux pastry the possibilities are endless so have fun!!

Easy-Peasy (Banana Spice) Cookies

Approx 25-30 Cookies*

Prep Time: 45min

Bake Time: 10-12 min

Bake Temp: 350 degrees

1 Box of Spice Cake Mix (use what you have!)

1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter softened

1/2 cup (2 medium) ripe Bananas smashed

1 teaspoon vanilla (or another flavor you like)

3/4 cup White Chocolate Chips (or chocolate or butterscotch...yum)

3/4 cup Pecans roughly chopped (any kind of nut will do) OPTIONAL

Essentials: Parchment paper for grease free baking and no sticking!!

Cream the butter, bananas and vanilla together until combined. Add cake mix and combine. Fold in white chocolate chips and pecans. Batter will be creamy here so don't worry!  Chill the dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Make sure you preheat your oven to 350 at least 5-7 minutes before you take the cookies out of the fridge (depends on how fast your oven comes to temperature).

Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper** for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the cookie springs back at the slightest touch.  Transfer the cookies and parchment paper on a wired rack to cool...then devour!!

* I used a small 1 1/2 table spoon ice cream scooper to portion my cookies.

** Neat tip...if you only have a jelly roll pan, you know the cookie sheets with the raised lip all the way around...well, flip it over and use the upside down pan lined with parchment paper. This helps to have the cookies get an even amount of heat. 

I really hope you enjoy this recipe, I know my friends and I did!!

Happy Baking,

Dani xoxox