Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Vanilla madeleines and back to school!


 
Whew! Sorry for the delay, moving in and job training (I'm a writing tutor ^__^) have made life kind of hectic. But I'm here now. Wanna see my new and improved dorm kitchen? 




Isn't it beautiful? Doesn't it just make you smile? It made me smile. Not even kidding, I walked in and started grinning. Counter space! And a nice oven! And the kitchen supply cabinet has cupcake pans. Swoon.




I made madeleines right before I left, so it isn't really an accurate indicator of what I'm capable of in my new cooking space. But don't worry, I'll prove myself. I'd never had a madeleine before I made them (I found a really cheap pan at Williams Sonoma) but they're lovely. Like, simple and refined and ladylike? Can a cookie be ladylike? I'd have liked to decorate them with the buttercream barnacles as the original recipe suggested, but I couldn't justify making a whole batch of buttercream late at night just to decorate a few cookies. I did drizzle a few with some sticky toffee sauce I had in my cabinet, and a little bit of sea salt. The sauce had a stronger flavor than I expected, and I think if I made these again I would make a lighter caramel sauce to go with them (but the sea salt added an amazing dimension to the flavor).



Vanilla Bean Madeleines

Yield 18 cookies

2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
Pinch of salt
1 cup all purpose flour
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly


Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter and flour pan for large Madeleines (about 3 x 1 1/4 inches).  Using electric mixer, beat eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl just to blend. Beat in vanilla seeds and salt. Add flour; beat just until blended. Gradually add cooled melted butter in steady stream, beating just until blended.
Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into each indentation in pan. Bake until puffed and brown, about 16 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Gently remove from pan. Repeat process, buttering and flouring pan before each batch. (Can be made 1 day ahead.)


1 comment:

  1. Nice new dorm kitchen digs. I am sure you won't have an issue proving yourself in your new space. The madeleines look fantastic. I do think they are lady like something in the name screams refinement.

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