Day 19 - Browned Butter Madeleines

Madeleines are very popular right now but to be honest, I can't remember trying one, but I have wanted to make them for a while.  It has been on my potential cookie list for several years but I would shy away from them because they seemed a little bit tricky to make and I don't usually like making something that may or may not turn out. I read a lot about the tricks to getting them to turn out with the signature hump in the middle.  One key was not to spread the batter in the pan, just let it spread while baking.  Also, another recipe said to refrigerate the pan after coating with butter, before you put the batter in the pans.  Both were good tips.  The recipe is pretty easy, just a few ingredients but needs time to rest and requires a little guess work as to the amount to fill the molds.  I am not usually one for guess work.  I like precise directions that are fool proof.  Well I am happy to say that this recipe worked and I loved my first madeleine.  I did a little happy dance when I turned on the oven light while they were baking and saw the signature hump in the middle!  Julia Child you have met your match (well not exactly but I did feel a little French while making these). I borrowed the pan from my friend Mary Claire as I didn't want to invest in another pan without knowing that it was something I wanted to do more than once.  I think a Madeleine pan is in my future!

Ingredients:

2 large eggs, beaten and at room temperature
2/3 cups sugar
1 cup all purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon for pans
1 stick unsalted butter, plus 1 and 1/2 tablespoons for pans
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
pinch of salt

Directions:

Combine sugar with one cup of flour and pinch of salt in medium mixing bowl.  Add eggs and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon to blend into a heavy paste.  Set aside for 10 minutes.

Bring all the butter to a boil until it begins to lightly brown - transfer to small bowl.  Note: I took the butter off the heat when it starts to bubble like crazy and I couldn't see the bottom of the pan.  By the time you pour it from the pot to the bowl the butter is brown with a nice nutty scent.  If you go to far it will burn and you will have to start over.  Mine maybe could have gone a tad longer.

Combine 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of the browned butter with 1 tablespoon of flour in a tiny bowl and set aside.

Cool butter slightly by stirring bowl over cold water or put the bowl in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

Stir cooled butter, vanilla and salt into flour/sugar/egg paste with a wooden spoon.  Go slowly at first so you don't get butter all over the kitchen.  Then mix with more force until batter comes together.

Cover the batter and let it rest in the refrigerator for an hour (could be up to 3 hours).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Drop a rounded tablespoon of batter into each Madeleine cup.  Do not attempt to spread the batter to fill the mold.  This will happen when it is in the oven.  Portioning Madeleines takes a bit of guesswork but the rounded tablespoon seemed to work pretty well.

Set pans on middle rack and bake for 15 minutes until cookies are puffed up in the middle and brown around the edges.

Cool in pans for a few minutes then unmold onto a cooling rack, gently nudging with an offset spatula, if necessary.

Dust shell side of cookies with powdered sugar and serve with your favorite warm beverage for dunking.  I froze at this point to pull them back out for Christmas but not before trying one.