"Madeleine" (cookies): a step by step recipe

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

French cuisine is considered one of the most complex and sophisticated in the world. One can hardly argue with this: often recipes for dishes include a huge number of ingredients and complex processes. Perhaps only those who have a huge amount of practice and knowledge in the culinary art will dare to cook according to them. But be that as it may, today we will focus on the recipe for the famous French dessert "Madeleine". We will cook cookies from tender biscuit dough at home, right in your family kitchen! Do you think it will be difficult? Not at all! This dessert is a great example of how simple everything ingenious is. But before moving on to the recipe itself, we will talk a little about how the Madeleine story began. Cookies with a female name are not just a delicious dessert, but a delicacy famous all over the world.

Birth of Madeleine

Today it is difficult to say who and when came up with such a delicious treat. The story of how "Madeleine" (cookies) first saw high light has only come down to us. It all started back in 1755. According to the custom of those times in France, balls were often held forhigh-ranking nobility. They were prepared in advance, buying the best products, and only the best masters of their craft reigned in the kitchen.

Quite unexpectedly, on the eve of the ball, it turned out that the chef was seriously ill and could not participate in the preparation of the banquet. Delicious pastries have always taken pride of place on noble tables, but this time, the guests, it seems, should have been left without dessert. Quite unexpectedly, an ordinary maid came to the rescue. She quickly prepared a simple dough of flour, eggs and sugar, and soon there were small fragrant scallop-shaped cookies on the platter. Everything is better than nothing. Surely the servants could not have challenged the famous chef of a nobleman?

Surprisingly tender cookies made a splash among the guests. It turned out to be so delicious that everyone certainly wanted to know its recipe and name. What it was called, the maid did not know. The only thing the girl said was that her grandmother often prepared such a dessert and the family loved it very much. Soon the recipe spread to all the noble houses of Paris, and even later the dessert appeared on the table of the King of France himself. It got its beautiful name in honor of the name of the maid who prepared the cookies - Madeleine. The French treat has become famous all over the world, and even today madeleines are just as popular. Surely you saw them in a candy store, or maybe you were treated to them at a party?

Seashell

"Madeleine" - cookies that are baked in the shape of seashells. Delicate texture andtheir delicate form gives them a refined sophistication, which is what most French desserts should be. For cooking, a specially made form is used; before baking, it is lightly oiled. A little dough is laid out on it, everything goes into the oven. In the process of baking, a small tubercle forms on the back of the cookie, this is by no means a flaw, but, on the contrary, a hallmark of real madeleines.

Today, molds for such baking are produced from different materials. Often this is the usual metal or more modern silicone products. Sizes can also be different, from the smallest to quite large, the only thing that remains unchanged is the shell.

If it is not easy to buy such a baking dish in your city, do not deny yourself the pleasure. You can beat the situation and bake cookies on parchment paper, greased with butter, spreading the dough with a spoon. The shell shape will be difficult to achieve, but it will turn out no less tasty.

Famous recipe

To make homemade Madeleine cookies, you will need the simplest ingredients. Surely they can be easily found in every home. Grandma Madeleine's recipe included:

• 3 eggs;
• 130g butter (butter);
• 150 g flour;
• 110g sugar (preferably powdered sugar);
• ½ tsp soda or baking powder;
• zest of one lemon;
• a little vanilla.

Preparing the dough

The finished dough should rest a little before being sent to the oven, becausetry to prepare it ahead of time. It is very convenient to make the dough the night before, and bake madeleines in the morning - an excellent tasty breakfast will be ready in just a few minutes. Fresh and delicious pastries with a cup of aromatic tea are a great start to the day.

Start preparing the ingredients: pre-melt the butter. Grind eggs with sugar until white and add a little vanilla. Ideally, the sugar crystals should dissolve completely, but to save time, it is better to use powdered sugar.

Add butter, chopped lemon zest and sifted flour with baking powder. Mix well - it should not be too thick. Then refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Baking madeleines

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Before baking, grease the molds with a little butter, then put some dough in them. It should occupy 2/3 of the total volume of shells. Don't overdo it, the cookies will expand slightly during baking.

Place the molds with madeleines in a hot oven for 4 minutes, then lower the temperature to 180 degrees and bake for another 4 minutes. As soon as the cookies are browned, they are ready. Carefully remove the treat from the molds while still warm, then let cool.

Beauty is in the details

Now you know how to make Madeleine cookies. We gave a classic recipe, such cookies were served at the table, lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar, less often covered with icing. Youyou can go much further, all that remains is to connect your imagination.

Madeleine can be made multi-colored or rainbow-colored, you just need to tint a little dough. Use suitable food coloring or simply add a couple of tablespoons of cocoa to the dough. Filled cookies can be prepared: make small indentations in the center with a teaspoon, put a little jam and put two cookies together. You can decorate the shells with a jacket: melt some chocolate and dip the tips of the cookies in it, let the chocolate harden.

Beautiful and delicious biscuits, once served to the King of France, will surely please you and your family, and they are quite easy to prepare. Enjoy your meal.