Orange and Almond Whole Wheat Madeleines

Orange and Almond Whole Wheat Madeleines

Inspiration for these darn awesome cookies was from a total lack of other options, ha.  I had accidentally bought a small package of whole wheat flour that needed using up around the same time I ran out of vanilla extract.  The recipe itself is a spin on Dorie Greenspan's "Traditional Madeleines" from her indispensable book Baking: From my home to yours (available from your local library, where I've managed to not return mine for *ahem* 6 months or so).  The regular madeleines straight from the book are great, but the whole wheat flour in this modified recipe lends an interesting, earthy texture without sacrificing buttery goodness.  You might almost convince yourself its a health food ... or at least have cause tell your skinny friends that its whole wheat and watch them down half a plate.  Cooking and schadenfreude, delicious.

Orange and Almond Whole Wheat Madeleines (modified from Dorie Greenspan's recipe for "Traditional Madeleines")

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 teaspoons baking powder

a wee pinch of salt

grated zest of half a large, preferably unwaxed, orange

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs, left to sit on the counter until room temperature

1 and 1/2 teaspoons of almond extract

3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted then cooled (but not solid again ... I usually do this first thing

before I start putting together anything else so it cools just right)

1. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Any whole wheat bits left over in the sifter or sieve can just be mixed in by hand.  Set aside for now.
2. In your stand mixer bowl or just a big bowl, rub the orange zest with the sugar using your fingertips.  The sugar will get all orangey-smelling and awesome, this is good.  No need to grate your fingers raw, but do make sure the sugar is a little moist (ugh, I hate that word).
3. Slap on your whisk attachment to the mixer or set up your hand mixer.  I don't recommend doing this manually, it's just more trouble than it's worth.
4. Add the eggs to the sugar mixture, and whisk the crap out of it until the whole thing is pale, thick, and light.  You'll be able to tell when it's just right at around 5 minutes on medium-high speed.
5. Whisk in the almond extract.
6. With a rubber spatula, delicately mix in the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time. When I'm feeling lazy, which is almost always, I just use the paddle attachment on my stand mixer set to "stir" for a few spins before adding the next little bit of flour.  It works, trust.
7. Lastly, stir in the melted butter until incorporated.  The batter will look a little greasy, but that's cool.  Just make sure the batter is mixed through, scraping the sides and bottom well.
8. In the mixer bowl (it's good because usually they're metal, but whatever bowl is just fine), cover the batter with a slice of plastic wrap pressed to the top of the batter.  Park it in the fridge for a minimum of four hours, but up to 48 hours.  You could bake it right away, but that tasty little hump that's characteristic in our buttery little pals wouldn't form right.  So worth the wait.
9. When you're ready to bake (finally), set your oven to a toasty 375 degrees.
10. Butter and flour your madeline pan (with regular AP flour if you have it), and fill each little compartment about 1/3 full (about 3/4 of a heartily rounded teaspoon).  Don't worry about making the batter even, they spread in the oven rather quickly.
11. Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on your oven.  The madeleines will be dry to the touch, and golden on the edges.  They burn quickly, so vigilance is rewarded until you get the hang of the timing.
12. After cooling in the pan for 5 minutes, pry out your prizes with a butter knife if they need coaxing.  Lay out on a cooling rack or cookie sheet until warm.
13. EAT, but be warned that they're better same-day :)

Well, that was fun, wasn't it!  For toppings, there's always a coat of powdered sugar, or some piped chocolate (so good).  Serve these guys with a cup of tea, and prepare to garner the affection of all within proximity.