Madeleines (Classic French Recipe)

These Madeleines are the classic French recipe for soft, delicate treats with a buttery texture, crispy edges, and lovely shell shapes, and they are ready in under 30 minutes!

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France has many regions (somewhat similar to US states) and each one has one or several traditional and very localized French recipes. Crepes are from Brittany, Ratatouille is from Marseilles, and the classic Quiche is from the Lorraine region.

French Madeleines are a popular, authentic regional recipe from Commercy, another city in the Lorraine region. This is widely considered the most popular French cookies. In France, it’s a recipe you learn to make as a kid, and this version is the no-fail recipe that everyone looking for a great easy French baking experience should try.

Madeleines are small French baked treats with a particular shell shape and hump in the middle. They are to the cookies what the Souffle Omelette are to classic omelettes, typically French. They taste like a butter cake with some hint of vanilla, lemon, or orange, depending on the recipe. They are originated from Eastern France, in the Lorrain Region, and often called Madeleine de Commercy.

Ingredients and Substitutions

The ingredients to make madeleines are pretty basic.

• All-Purpose Flour – While it might also work with gluten-free flour, I haven’t tried it. Expect the texture to be slightly denser with it.
• Eggs – I prefer using large free-range eggs.
• Milk – This recipe work with classic dairy milk or plant-based alternatives such as almond milk or coconut milk.
• Butter – Melted and cooled. I prefer grass-fed butter.
• Baking Powder – For the fluffy dough and the classic hump.
• Vanilla Extract or orange water, or lemon zest.

The best way to create a range of flavorsome madeleine cookies is to add different extracts to the batter. The most popular French flavors added to madeleine batter are:

• Orange Blossom Essence
• Rose Water
• Lemon Zest

You can add these flavors as an add-on to the vanilla extract or as a replacement for vanilla.

How To Make French Madeleines

Baking classic French madeleines is easier than you think. The trick is to have a madeleine pan and bake the recipe in two steps at two temperatures. But first, let me share with you all you need to make light, buttery madeleines.

1. First, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, or bring the butter into a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Microwave for 30 seconds until melted. Set it aside to cool down.
3. Next, beat the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl until the color gets whiter and the texture is pale, and foamy. It’s called the ribbon stage of egg beating. You can use a hand whisk or stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Set the stand mixer on medium speed and whisk the egg mixture for about 2 minutes until pale, light, fluffy and foamy.
4. Stir the milk and vanilla together and fold them into the batter. Gradually add the flour and baking powder and stir halfway.
5. Pour the melted butter into the bowl with the flour mixture. The madeleine batter should be quick, liquid, and runny, and that’s what you want.
6. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes in the fridge. Chilling the batter before baking helps the madeleines rise in the center and form their signature hump.
7. Preheat the oven to 460 °F (240 °C). High oven temperatures are the secret to making perfect madeleines. Their particular shell shape with a bumpy center comes from the high temperature of the first bake.
8. Lightly oil a Madeleine pan with butter or avocado oil.
9. Fill each madeleine shell up to 3/4 of their level. The madeleines will rise, so don’t fill their hole to the top, or they will overflow.
10. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 5 minutes at 460 °F (240 °C). Then, reduce to 350 °F (180 °C) and keep baking for an extra 5 minutes.
11. The madeleines are fully baked when they are golden brown, show a lovely bumpy shape in the center and a pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
12. Unmold each madeleine cookie and release it on a wire rack with its hump up to cool down.

Storage Instructions

Madeleine cookies can be stored for two days at room temperature or for up to 5 days in a sealed cookie box in the fridge. You can freeze baked madeleines in Ziploc bags and thaw them at room temperature the day before. They last for up to one month in the freezer.

Serving Suggestions

French people don’t decorate madeleines. We eat them plain with a cup of tea or coffee. They are a kid’s favorite after-school snack in France, and we often add flavor to the madeleine batter rather than decorating them.

You can have taste and flavors by adding:

• A dust of powdered sugar
• A chocolate shell. Dip the shell into melted white chocolate or melted dark chocolate. Let it cool down in the fridge to harden the shell.

Allergy Swaps

Below are some ideas to make the recipe if you are allergic to some of the ingredients:

• Egg-Free – Some store-bought egg replacers might work, but the color and texture will differ.
• Dairy-Free – Replace the butter with margarine. Any plant-based milk, like soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk, will work.
• Sugar-Free – You can use sugar-free crystal sweeteners, like erythritol, to make sugar-free madeleines.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are the answers to the most common questions about baking madeleines.

More French Recipes

Below are some more French-inspired recipes for you to try: