I overheard my son, Cameron, talking to a girl at the playground. Here is how the conversation went:
Cameron: I’m older than you.
Girl: No, I”m older. How old are you?
Cameron: I’m 5, but I’ll be 9 soon.
Girl: Well, I”m 8, so I’ll be 9 before you.
Cameron: Well, I’ve a big brother and he’s 17, so he’s older than you.
Girl: Well, my cousin is older than your brother. She’s 22.
Cameron: Well, my mom is way older than your cousin. She’s really old.
Me: (nervous laugh) Okay, Cameron… cut it out.
Girl: So what? My grandfather is way older than your mom. He’s in a wheelchair.
Cameron: (mind blown) Yeah, that’s pretty old.
Hey, I made chocolate and sea salt Madeleines! I’m also not that old.
I got this recipe from one of my most favorite sites, Epicurious. I changed it up a bit by browning the butter to give this cookie a more nutty and richer flavor. I also sprinkled sea salt on the madeleines while they were still warm from the oven. They were delicious– crisp on the outside, soft on the inside with a lovely chocolate taste. Madelelines are easy to make, but they do require some baking knowledge. You need to know how to fold in ingredients, whisk the eggs and sugar until it has reached the ribbon stage, and pipe batter into the tins. Okay, let’s do it!
Madeleines are notorious for sticking, so generously brush the Madeleine tins with melted butter, and then chill the tins in the refrigerator.
Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt, and then sift this mixture four times. Set aside.
Brown the 12 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Here’s how it’s done: cut the butter into tablespoon-sized pieces and place in a saucepan. Over medium heat, melt the butter. Once completely melted, the butter will begin to foam, and look a tad bit green. Constantly stir, and after a few minutes the water in the butter will evaporate, and the milk solids will start to brown. When you begin to smell that nutty aroma, and the melted butter has turned an amber/brown, quickly remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the browned butter into a clean bowl. Set aside to cool.
In a bowl connected to a standing mixer and fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk together on low speed the eggs, sugar, and vanilla bean paste (or extract) until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Once the eggs, sugar, and vanilla have been mixed together increase the speed to medium-high, and whisk until you reach the ribbon stage, about 10 minutes. Reaching the “ribbon stage” is important because it means that enough air has been whipped into the egg mixture, and that the sugar has fully dissolved. It is ready when the egg/sugar mixture falls off the the whisk like a ribbon, and holds it’s shape for a few seconds.
Now you can fold in your dry ingredients…
while alternating with folding in the cooled browned butter. To fold a batter correctly, use a rubber spatula and with the thin edge slice through the middle of the batter. Then, bring the bottom part of the batter to the top almost in a “J” motion. Keep repeating these steps while turning the bowl. Stop folding once the ingredients appear incorporated.
Using a piping bag fitted with a #12 tip, fill each shell in the tins. Start the piping at the top of the shells, and pipe all the way to the bottom. Finish the piping by quickly going back up, and creating a little tail.
Refrigerate the batter-filled molds for 30 minutes to an hour, and then bake in a 425 degree oven for about 7 to 10 minutes, or until the Madeleines are firm and puffy.
Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes in the molds, and then gently take each one out. Sprinkle with a pinch of coarse sea salt, and sift a little powdered sugar over each one. Enjoy while still warm! I’ll be 40 in June, in case you’re wondering.
- Butter, melted (enough to generously coat the madeleine tins)
- 3/4 cup (100g) All-purpose Flour
- ½ cup (90g) Unsweetened Cocoa
- Pinch of Salt
- 4 Large Eggs
- 1 cup (200g) Sugar
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste, or Vanilla Extract
- 12 TBS (6 ounces; 185g) Unsalted Butter, cut into tablespoon sizes
- Coarse Sea Salt for sprinkling
- Generous brush the madeleine molds with melted butter, and then chill.
- In a saucepan, melt and brown the 12 tablespoons of butter. You'll know the butter is nicely browned when it has a nutty aroma, and is an amber/brown color. Pour into a clean bowl and set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, and salt. Using another bowl, sift the mixture back and forth four times. Set aside.
- In a bowl connected to a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the sugar, eggs, and vanilla bean paste (or extract) for about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and then increase the speed to medium-high for 10 minutes. Eventually, the egg mixture will increase three times its volume, and become lighter in color. It is ready when it falls off of the whisk in “ribbons”, and holding it's shape on the rest of the batter for 5 seconds.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold into the egg/sugar mixture the flour mixture and browned butter, alternating between the two until both are incorporated.
- Spoon the Madeleine batter into a piping bag fitted with a #12 tip. Using the now chilled Madeleine molds, fill each shell about ¾ full. Chill the batter-filled molds in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Bake the Madeleines for about 7 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are firm and spring back when lightly pressed.
- Let cookies cool in molds for 10 minutes, and then carefully remove each one (use an off-set spatula for assistance). Sprinkle the shell sides with a pinch of coarse sea salt, and some sifted powdered sugar. Enjoy while warm!
- 2 Madeleine tins
- Standing mixer with whisk attachment, or hand held mixer
- Pastry brush
- Off-set spatula (to help remove baked Madeleins
- Piping bag fitted with a #12 tip
- Sifter
