“When You’re Down and Feeling Worse, Keep a Cookie in Your Purse” ~ Anonymous
Hello my Foodie Friends!
Eating cookies is a quick way to travel back in time to when you were younger and did not have the worries about bills, fighting traffic, and getting through the hectic day. What better way to give yourself a pick-me-up on a hard day than treating yourself to a cookie? Cookies give us human inner peace all the time. Each gathering you attend or special occasion, there are always cookies!!. No other dessert is as portable as a cookie. You can fit them in a purse, pockets, lunch boxes, gym bags, book bags…the list goes on.
Stashing my mother’s homemade cookies in my pockets was a common practice for me as a teenager. After wrestling and football practice, I always looked forward to sneaking past her platters in the kitchen and subtly putting several in each pocket to hold me over until dinner. It was an art to graze the table and with stealth moves guide the cookies into my jacket as I made my way to my room after an exhausting practice. It was that treasured moment that I always looked forward to each day. As I look back, I thought I was fooling my mother. However, I know she knew what I was doing and most likely smiled each time I walked by the table. Knowing my mother, she made sure the platter was situated where I could do my masterful strategy.
One of the cookies that was light and buttery, and easy to eat was a madeleine cookie. Madeleines, if you don’t know of them, are little lemon-scented cake-like cookies. They are traditionally baked in a special madeleine pan that give them a shell form. They are simple and yet elegant. I like them plain with powdered sugar or half dipped in chocolate. Either way, they are winners. This soft, buttery cake is made with eggs, sugar, flour, and butter, and is traditionally baked in a shell-shaped mold, which gives it its distinctive shape. The origins of the Madeleine are said to date back to the 18th century, when they were first made in the town of Commercy in northeastern France. According to legend, the cakes were named after a young girl named Madeleine Paulmier in 1755 who served them to the Duke of Lorraine (frenchwink.com).
To get the soft fan shape that Madeleine cookies are known for, you need a madeleine pan with a shell-shaped cavity that creates that traditional look of this French biscuit. The cookie will shrink slightly as they back. The cookies are cooked upside down. One side has the ridges similar to a sea shell, the other puffs up slightly giving the Madeleine cookie its signature look. Madeleine cookies are not too sweet and have a very light texture that almost melts on the tongue. You can enjoy them any time of the day; breakfast, snack time, or dessert.
If you are looking for that special cookie to sneak into your pocket or put in your purse, consider making Madeleine cookies as a treat. Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store for madeleine pans, and the essentials you need to make your delicacies. Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen!”.
Take Care, John & Paula
