Madelines

"...the smallest of which, is Madeline."

The Madeline books are just about the cutest kid's books ever. And it seems somehow very appropriate that the cookies are as bright yellow as her little outfit.

You can get madelines at Starbucks, but I think they're something like 2/$1. Boo. But why? This is the downside of cooking: you discover that something is terribly easy to make yourself, and when you make it just as you like it, it's hard to go out and buy it.

With a lovely new madeline pan calling to me, I searched for and used this recipe. Not one of my usual sites, but who doesn't love a little history with their recipes? Here I learned that really, these are cookies only in size. They're more like a lighter mini pound cake.

It seems like a lot of French recipes call for making a merengue. Not that I'm complaining; after some practice and a fancy mixer it gets easier (one of my tricks is a little salt really seems to speed things up).

Apparently that lump in the middle is a good thing. Hooray for getting it right on the first try!

These will stick, so I broke out the cake release. And, as expected, it made the shell side a little crispy in a very, very good way.

In the greater scheme of things, these were pretty easy to make. They're quick to make, and yet look like you spent an awful lot of time on them. Great for a fancy party!

Oh yeah, and they taste great too.