Madeleines

When I was living and working in Chicago I drank so much coffee and tea all day long and I have always wanted to have something light to go with what I had. So I started buying those mini lemon poppy seeds at Jewel which were just perfect for me until they stopped selling them. And then I came across the mini shell shaped looking cakes called French Madeleines that later on I found out that they are not cakes but considered as cookies in France. Oh good grief what do I know?! 

I loved what they looked like but the ones I bought were always dry and tasted ordinary. So I thought maybe I should learn more about it and work on perfecting my own recipe according to my preference which is moist with a pronounced lemony taste. During my experimentation stage, they were dry, densed, sticking to the pan that they all end up scuffed from the pan even if I have tried brushing melted or softened butter, dusting the pans with flour or even slightly brushing them with oil. Nothing worked but the butter baking spray! Imagine that! I don't know what's inside those spray tins but they are my life savers.

So many ingredients were wasted during the trial and error period because I could not get the oven temperature and baking time right. Either the oven is too hot or I baked them too long until finally I came down to it! WOOHOO! Hard work and patience paid off. I started making them in the Philippines when I decided to come for my family to enjoy.

Little did I know, my friends insisted of me selling them since nobody else makes them here. They were right! I found a niche in the baking market and I was glad to get orders here and there. People eat them on their own like regular cookies especially those who are not a coffee nor a tea drinker. They were in awe every time they take that bite after bite but they didn't realize how easy it is to make them after the grueling experimentation period. So why not share this here to spare you the trouble?