Brown Butter Madeleines

"Oh madeleines, how scrumptious you are!"  This is our little Sweetpea's famous line every time she munches on these little delectable things!  A Lacour's favorite at home and on the go (and we go a lot!).  This is her most requested homemade snack.  These are very easy and fun to make that even little Sweetpea can help.  Originated in France, a very popular pastry, great for the "quatre heure" traditional afternoon snack, these little heavenly delights are somewhat little sponge cakes, airy and buttery molded in beautiful, tiny individual shapes.

Sweetpea gets fascinated watching the mixer incorporating all ingredients.  As sous chef, her job is adding the dry ingredients into it.  She loves being given responsibilities in the kitchen!

Carefully pour enough mix into each molds.

So, this is her favorite part...decorating!  I let her have fun with it.  In fact, this is her idea to put sprinkles on top...and I thought it's a great idea!

The beautiful finished product!  Some with sprinkles and some without...hmm, I already knew which one she will first dig into...

After having them cooled off in open air, I store them in a container with cover to help prolong freshness for days.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
Nice drizzle of honey (1 to 2 teaspoons)
2/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Salt
1/2 orange, zested
Special equipment: madeleine mold*
Sprinkles (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

To brown the butter, melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy saucepan, allowing to bubble and foam, stirring frequently. Once the foaming subsides, allow the butter to brown along the bottom and then remove the pan from the heat. Browning will take about 5 minutes total; do not burn.
In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, and honey with electric mixer until thick and pale. Add the browned butter and mix.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and mix into liquid ingredients, along with zest, just until blended.
Fill the greased madeleine baking molds and bake until golden, 9 to 11 minutes.
*Cook's Note: you may substitute a mini-muffin pan for madeleine molds.

Yield: 10-14 madeleines

Recipe courtesy:  Melissa d'Arabian, Foodnetwork.com