Orange Almond Madeleines Food

ORANGE MADELEINES (WILLIAMS SONOMA)

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven, preheat to 375°F Using a pastry brush, heavily brush room-temperature butter over each of the 12 molds in a madeleine pan, carefully buttering every ridge. Dust the molds with flour, tilting pan to coat the surfaces evenly. Turn the pan upside down, tap it gently, and discard the excess flour.
• By Mixer: In a large bowl, combine the eggs, granuated sugar, and salt. Beat on medium-high speed until pale, thick, and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Sprinkle the sifted flour over the egg mixture and mix on low speed to incorporate.
• Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the orange zest and half of the melted butter just until blended. Fold in the remaining butter.
• Divide the batter among the 12 prepared molds, using a heaping tablespoon of batter for each mold. Bake the cookies until the top springs back when lightly touched. 8 - 12 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and invert it over a wire rack, then rap it on the rack to release the madeleines. If any stick, use your fingers to loosen the edges, being careful not to touch the hot pan, and invert and rap again.
• Let cool on the rack for 10 minutes. Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust the tops with confectioner's sugar and serve. Alternatively, cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. Before serving, heat the cookies in a 250F (120c) oven until warm, then dust with the confectioners' sugar.

HOW TO MAKE MADELEINES

Steps:

• Melt 10 tablespoons butter over medium heat. (Leave the remaining 2 tablespoons on the counter to come to room temperature. Set aside for the pan.) Cook butter over medium-low, stirring frequently, while it foams and bubbles. After about 5 minutes, the butter will darken and you'll see particles on the bottom of the pan. Once these become golden or light brown, remove the pan from the heat and pour butter into a heat-proof container. Let cool. Whisk sifted flour, salt, and baking powder together. Set aside.Beat eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for about 6-8 minutes, or until thickened and pale yellow. Beat in the extracts. Gently fold in half of the flour mixture. Fold in the butter. Add the remaining flour and fold gently until incorporated. Place bowl in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Use a pastry brush to coat the Madeleine tin cavities completely. Flour the pans, tapping out the excess. Do not stir the batter after removing from the refrigerator. Place a heaping tablespoon of batter into each prepared cavity. Do not spread. Place in the oven and lower the temperature to 350ºF. Bake for 12 minutes or until the cookies bounce back when lightly pressed. Remove from oven and place a wire rack upside-down on top of the pan. With oven mitts, grab the pan and cooling rack and flip, giving the pan a few good shakes. Remove the pan, and the cookies should release. If baking in batches, return the dough to the refrigerator between batches. Wash the pan with cool water and re-butter and flour the pan. Store cooled madeleines in an airtight container, layering with waxed paper, for several days.

HONEY-ALMOND MADELEINES

Steps:

• Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter 12 madeleine molds liberally with butter. Dust with flour and set aside.
• Batter: In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cake mix, butter, honey, water, lemon zest, and almond extract. Beat the ingredients on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and beat until the batter is smooth, about 2 minutes. Spoon the batter into the prepared molds. Bake until the edges are golden and the center of the cookies spring back when touched, about 15 to 16 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Using a small rubber spatula, remove the madeleines and arrange, scalloped side up, on a wire rack. Cool for 15 minutes and serve.

ORANGE-CARDAMOM MADELEINES

Steps:

• Brush molds of a madeleine pan with butter; set aside. Make the batter: Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat, and stir in honey and vanilla. Let cool 10 minutes.
• Whisk flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 325, with rack in center. Stir together sugar and eggs in a medium bowl. Gently fold in flour mixture until combined. Add butter mixture, and fold until combined. Cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Spoon batter into prepared pan, filling each mold halfway. Tap pan on work surface to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until cookies are puffed and edges are golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer pan to a wirerack; let cool slightly. Unmold cookies onto rack, and let cool completely.
• Make the orange glaze: Stir together sugar and orange zest and juice in a small bowl until glaze is smooth, thick, and opaque. Using a small pastry brush, coat ridged side of each cookie with glaze. Let set 15 minutes. Cookies can be stored in a single layer in an airtight container up to 3 days.