Easy Madeleine Cookie Recipe

This classic French madeleine recipe is a favorite in my house. In fact it’s one of the first things I baked for Matt. While he refers to them as cookies, as do many others, they are actually little French butter cakes.

Cakes, cookies—whatever. I’m just happy he enjoys them as much as I do. But what’s not to like about a tiny, butter-rich cake that’s browned and crisp on the outside and soft and spongy on the inside?

For this version, I made a lime and hibiscus variation. They turned out the way I intended – bright and citrus-y in flavor with a tiny hint of floral aromatics. Nothing overwhelming, just a subtle flavoring to give these little cakes a summer boost. Of course you can skip the hibiscus and the lime for that matter, but make sure to use a high-quality butter like my favorite, Challenge Butter.

Aside from its superior flavor, I love that it’s churned from 100 percent real cream from cows in California. And just as important, it’s rbST free—in fact they were first to implement a no-rbST policy. It’s no wonder that their foward thinking and the taste has kept them in business for a 100 years and it’s the largest butter brand in the West – and is now available the rest of the country. Look for it in the refrigerated section of your grocery store, it’s the box with the distinctive elk on the packaging.

Speaking of real flavor, Challenge, along with Good Cook™, Langers® Juice and Mrs. Cubbison’s® are celebrating great summer flavors with their “Real Summer, Real Flavor” sweepstakes, a fun spin-the-wheel game where you can win cash, coupons and products from these great brands. Check it out! The grand prize is $100,000!

A few notes:

• For the hibiscus, I used dried hibiscus flowers and processed it to a fine grind with a coffee grinder. I purchased dried hibiscus at a Persian market, but you can also find it online at Amazon.
• Once you mix the batter, make sure to bake it immediately or else the hibiscus may start to tint the batter. On the flipside, for the glaze, the finer the grind the more it will tint the glaze. Keep in mind the color deepens as it sits.
• Usually I brown the butter for most madeleines, but didn’t for these because I wanted the other flavors to come through more prominently.

Lime and Hibiscus Madeleines

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 2 teaspoon lime zest
• 2 teaspoon hibiscus
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 stick unsalted butter (10 tablespoons), melted and cooled

Glaze

• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 2 - 4 teaspoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon hibiscus powder

Finish

• 2 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 2 teaspoon hibiscus petal finely crushed

• For the hibiscus, I used dried hibiscus flowers and processed it to a fine grind with a coffee grinder. I purchased dried hibiscus at a Persian market, but you can also find it online at Amazon.
• Once you mix the batter, make sure to bake it immediately or else the hibiscus may start to tint the batter. On the flipside, for the glaze, the finer the grind the more it will tint the glaze. Keep in mind the color deepens as it sits.
• Usually I brown the butter for most madeleines, but didn't for these because I wanted the other flavors to come through more prominently.

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