High Altitude French Madeleines
These classic French cookies have crisp edges and soft, cakey centers, subtly flavored with vanilla and cardamom, and coated in sugar.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp whole milk
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ⅛ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted (plus a little extra for greasing the pan)
- powdered sugar or granulated sugar, for dusting
Instructions
Make and Chill the Batter
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes on medium speed (#6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer) until pale, thick and ribbony. Whisk in the vanilla extract and the milk.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom, then use a whisk or spatula to add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, just until combined.
- Add the melted butter, and gently stir into a smooth batter.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate the batter for 3 hours until well chilled, but preferably overnight.
Bake the Madeleines
- Brush your madeleine pans lightly with butter, then place the pans in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill. (If your pans are older, and have lost their non-stick coating, you may also need to dust them with flour after you butter them, to ensure the cookies don't stick.)
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Use a small cookie scoop with a release lever or a spoon to scoop dollops of chilled batter into the chilled pan. You should fill each mold with 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter. There's no need to spread the batter out into the mold; it will spread out and fill the molds as the madeleines bake.
- Bake the madeleines for about 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the cookies are puffed and set in the center, but be careful not to over-bake, or they will dry out.
- Cool in the pan for several minutes, then turn the cookies out of the pan and dust with powdered sugar or granulated sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Store the leftover madeleines in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
https://curlygirlkitchen.com/