I’m not the type of baker/cook who always gets the newest kitchen gadget. I buy the most practical utensils for my kitchen. I also wouldn’t normally just go out and buy something like this Madeleine pan that can only be used for making Madeleine, although had I known how easy (but delicious and impressive) this dessert would be – I would have gone out and gotten the pan myself. But that is why you have a best friend. A best girlfriend who just thinks that you should own one since she knows that you’d love getting a surprise gift like this one. So, she went out and got you one!

I was about eight months pregnant at that time, and at that time, Mollie came to visit me and got me this beautiful little pan. I kept on wanting to finally take advantage of this – and I seem to always forget the one ingredient that you shouldn’t miss: a lemon! When I finally had a basket full of lemons, this was the first thing that I knew that I had to finally make. Light and fluffy like little sponge cakes, with a tiny bit of  crust on the outside… they were divine.  I added an extra teaspoonful of grated lemon zest, and I loved the extra lemony punch.

These little cakes weren’t extremely sweet, so perfect for breakfast but sweet enough to make breakfast feel extra special. Also, sophisticated enough for dinner. Since this recipe allows the batter to be prepared overnight, placed in the pan, and refrigerated, I decided to serve these for breakfast. What a perfect companion for a tall glass of hot tea. We all loved these madeleines (including my daughter who was holding on to hers pretty tightly) and I really wished that I would have tried this sooner. And I wish that Mollie was living closer to me so she could share this with me.

Ingredients
2/3 c all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. double-acting baking powder
A pinch of salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
Grated zest of 2 lemon
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 stick (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Directions
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar together at medium-high speed until they thicken and lighten in color, about 2-3 minutes.

Beat in vanilla. With a large rubber spatula, gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Cover the batter with plastic wrap, pressing it against the surface to create an airtight seal. Chill for at least 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If your madeleine pan is not nonstick, generously butter it and dust with flour. Set the pan on a baking sheet for easy transportability. Spoon the batter into the molds, filling them almost to the top. Don’t worry about smoothing the batter. It will even out as it bakes.

In the center rack of the oven, bake large madeleines for 11-13 minutes, and small ones for 8-10 minutes, or until they are puffed and golden and spring back when touched.

Remove the cookies by either rapping the pan against the counter or gently running a butter knife around the edges of the cookies. Cool on a cooling rack.

*Note-do not overfill the pans, a little batter goes a long way. The cookies will rise while baking. The recipe yielded 24 cookies for me. Also, my madeleines were done baking at 8 minutes, so make sure you check them.*