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Part little cake, part delicate cookie, Orange and Chocolate Madeleines are the perfect bite. This recipe for these distinctive light and airy French butter cookies is delicious and foolproof.

chocolate dipped madeleines on a tray with an orange and sieve on a madeleine tray
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a mixer whisk propped up with madeleine batter

You need a special pan to make these into the shape of the madeleine.  I can’t speak to what they’d turn out like without the pan.  I will say the batter is delicious as is, so you maybe don’t even need to bake these. 🙂 You can add a madeleine pan to your holiday wishlist, but I’ve also seen at Goodwill often, so check there too! This recipe calls for powdered sugar; did you know you could make your own? While you’re at it, go ahead and use some homemade vanilla extract too!

madeleines on a tray with an orange and microplane

For the orange zest, I highly recommend using a microplane to get a nice fine zest. By the way, Nice Fine Zest is also the name of my Fine Young Cannibals cover band.

With a name like Orange and Chocolate Madeleines, you may think these cookies are complicated. FALSE. Making these cookies is surprisingly easy.

Just read the recipe thoroughly to make sure you have all the ingredients set up, and follow the steps as written. If it says use room temperature eggs, by all means, use room temperature eggs! But, let’s say you don’t have whole wheat flour and just want to use regular all-purpose. You go right ahead; these cookies are still going to rock your socks off. Right. Off.

chocolate dipped madeleine cookies on a dish with cookies, a sieve, and orange in the background

Now the cookies as is are pretty awesome. They’re delicious and delicate. But what happens when you then dip them in chocolate? I’ll tell you what happens…you win the day and just made an awesome cookie into an amazing cookie. And you know what that makes you? A cookie ninja.

5 from 2 ratings

Orange and Chocolate Madeleines

Servings: 18
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
madeleines
Orange and Chocolate Madeleines. These soft and delicate butter cookies are absolutely delicious. Oh and guess what? They’re totally whole wheat. 

Ingredients 

Cookies

Topping

Instructions 

  • Melt the butter, and place in the fridge to cool down. 
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Zest your satsuma into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer.
  • Add the vanilla and eggs to the mixing bowl. Mix for 5 minutes on high with the whisk attachment.
  • Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the powdered sugar. Mix on high for another 5 minutes.
  • Combine the dry ingredients (flour, vital wheat gluten, and baking powder), and add to the egg and sugar mixture slowly, about 1/4 cup at a time. Mix on low until just incorporated. The mixture should now be thick and fluffy looking. 
  • Add the melted/cooled butter, and mix on low until just incorporated. Don’t go overboard scraping the bowl out with a spatula. Set the butter bowl aside cause you’re going to use it later.
  • Use a pastry brush, and spread some of the melted butter left in the bowl in the molds. Then, sprinkle a bit of flour over the tray.  
  • Spoon a scant tablespoon of batter into each mold. To get the batter spread out, I use an ancient French technique called “Le Finger.,” i.e., just push it down with your pointer finger. ?
  • Bake for 10 minutes. Let sit in the molds for one minute, and then remove and let cool on a baking rack.

Topping

  • Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil in the microwave. Stir. every 30 seconds until fully combined.
  • Dip one side in the chocolate, and lay on a tray lined with parchment. Put the tray in the freezer for 10 minutes to allow the chocolate to set.
  • Store in an air-tight container at room temperature if your kitchen is cool. If your kitchen is on the warmer side, please store in the fridge.

Notes

Based off of this allrecipes submission.
If you want to use regular all-purpose flour, you won’t need the vital wheat gluten.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 155kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 1gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 30mgPotassium: 47mgFiber: 0gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 240IUVitamin C: 1.4mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 0.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Tried this recipe?Mention @sustainablecooks or tag #sustainablecooks!

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About Sarah Cook

I'm here to help you make easy, seasonal, and no-fuss recipes for yourself and your family.

Whether it's a quick one-pot dinner or if I am teaching you how to can and preserve local produce, you can consider me your elder millennial grandma

5 from 2 votes

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9 Comments

  1. These sound delightfully dangerous! Too bad I don’t bake.

    But wait! Costco sells Madeleines (although not orange ones), so I am assuming I can add orange extract to the chocolate, move on from there and call myself happy.

    Thanks for the idea. Yum.

    1. If you’re using whole wheat flour, vital wheat gluten will help make the finished product light and fluffy. If you don’t have vital wheat gluten, you can try baking powder, but you may get different results.

      Or just use regular flour!

  2. I read the title of this post, and my brain interpreted it as “Whole Wheat Oranges, and Chocolate Madelines”. I understood the chocolate madelines, but couldn’t figure out what whole wheat oranges are, or why you would want them. LOL! I guess I need another cup of coffee…

  3. These sound wonderful. My daughter made Lemon Madeleines last year for a school project. We didn’t have the Madeline pan and I was too cheap to go buy it. 🙂 We used a mini muffin pan and filled them about halfway. They still turned out delicious and she got an A on the project.