Madeleines

from The Gourmet Cookbook
(Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
Makes about 20

This cookie launched a thousand memories — and a literary masterpiece — for Marcel Proust. Enjoy these madeleines with tea, just as the narrator did in Swann’s Way.—The Gourmet Cookbook

convert Ingredients
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Pinch of salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
Powdered sugar

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Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Generously butter and flour a pan for large madeleines (about 3 x 1 1/4 inches).* Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl just to blend. Beat in the vanilla, lemon peel and salt. Add the flour; beat just until blended. Gradually add the cooled melted butter in a steady stream, beating just until blended.

2. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the batter into each indentation in the madeleine pan. Bake until puffed and brown, about 16 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Gently remove the cookies from the pan. Repeat the process, buttering and flouring pan before each batch. (The cookies can be made 1 day ahead.)

3. Dust cookies with powdered sugar just before serving.

*For this recipe, you’ll need a madeleine pan — a metal mold with scallop-shaped indentations — which you can find at any cookware store.

Recipe © 2004 by Conde Nast Publications. All rights reserved.