Meyer Lemons are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. This unique fruit blends the traditional flavor of a lemon and the sweetness of an orange creating a refreshingly exceptional taste experience. It's rich, dark and aromatic juice is much sweeter than a conventional lemon.
So when I had 4 of them sitting in my refrigerator I decided I'd better use them for something luscious before they went bad. I decided that I'd make some Meyer Lemon Madeleines, a light cake-like cookie. With the addition of the Meyer Lemons, it would give them that extra WOW flavor! Since I knew I'd still have some unused lemons I also decided to make some Meyer Lemon Curd as well, a favorite of mine.....
My first thought was that I'd create a sandwich cookie, using 2 Madeleine's with the Meyer Lemon Curd sandwiched between them. Unfortunately, that didn't work because of the way the Madeleine's puff up. I could have sliced the back sides of each cookie so it would be flat, making it easier to make the sandwich, but I didn't want to ruin this wonderful cookie and it's perfect shape. So instead, I created two separate and devine dishes. Of course, nothing says I can't dip my Madeleine into the Meyer Lemon Curd. I mean, afterall, people dip their cookies in milk, why not in lemon curd?
If you've never attempted to make either of these you don't know what you're missing. The Madeleine's are the perfect cake-like cookie. You can eat them anytime in my opinion, even for breakfast. They're not too sweet but just right. Goldilocks would love them!
Lemon Curd, especially made with Meyer Lemons, is a flavor that is so incredible it's hard to describe. So light, smooth and velvety, it melts in your mouth. Each taste, excites your palate with it's heavenly lemony/orange flavor making it almost impossible to stop eating. It's that good! Eat it plain, spread on toast, in desserts, with berries and pound cake or however you choose to enjoy it.
However, today I'd like to share with you my Meyer Lemon Madeleine recipe. I'm saving the recipe for the Meyer Lemon Curd since that's something I teach in my culinary classes. I hope you enjoy these little cake-like cookies. I don't know anyone that doesn't like them.
Feel free to substitute oranges or even limes in place of the lemons depending on what you prefer. They're sure to disappear quickly so you may want to hide a few just for yourself.
Meyer Lemon Madeleine's
makes 24 cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used Meyer Lemons)
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
Directions:
- Heat butter in small heavy saucepan over medium heat just until very light golden brown and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool until tepid.
- Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.
- Beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl until tripled in volume. Lower speed to medium and beat in lemon juice and zest. Fold in flour mixture in three additions. Fold in cooled butter. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until slightly firm.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter two 12-mold madeleine pans. Dust molds with flour.
- Drop a generous tablespoonful of batter into center of each prepared mold, leaving the batter mounded in the center.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown and centers spring back when lightly touched.
- Remove pans from oven and rap each pan sharply against a countertop to release the madeleines. Cool on wire racks.
Plate up and serve.
Note: There are two kitchen tools that will make prepping for this recipe a snap. In fact they are some of the most useful tools in my kitchen. They are a Microplane
for zesting and a juicer
for squeezing the lemons. You can read my tips for juicing here.Enjoy!
