Dark Chocolate Madeleines with Raspberry-White Chocolate Icing

Makes approximately 36 cookies

Prep time: 1 hour, 15 minutes including refrigeration time

Cooking time: 12 minutes

Ingredients for cookies

3 large eggs, room temperature

0.75 c. + 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

3 oz. dark chocolate (65% - 70% cacao), chopped (or use chips)

1 stick unsalted butter (4 oz.)

0.75 cup sugar

0.25 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

0.25 tsp. sea salt

0.25 c. cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking powder, plus 1 tbsp. for dusting molds

Madeleine cookie molds

Ingredients for icing

1 c. white chocolate, chopped (or use chips)

2 tbsp. dried raspberry powder

Red food coloring to preference (This is totally optional - for appearance only. You only need a drop or two.)

Directions for cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Melt butter. Remove from heat, add dark chocolate and whisk until smooth and fully incorporated. Set aside to cool.

3. In a bowl, sift the flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking powder.

4. In a separate medium bowl, mix sugar and eggs to combine. Using a hand mixer on medium-high speed, beat until the mixture thickens and turns light yellow, approximately six to seven minutes.

5, Fold the dry ingredients into the egg-sugar mixture. Don’t use the hand mixer for this. Use a spatula or wide wooden spoon for best results. Combine thoroughly.

6. Add the chocolate-butter mixture and gently incorporate until thoroughly combined, but still light. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 90 minutes.

7. Thoroughly butter each Madeleine mold - be sure to get every nook & cranny! Dust the molds with cocoa powder and gently shake to remove any excess.

8. Put the molds in the freezer for at least 15 minutes, and up to 90 minutes. (The colder the pan, the easier it is for the cookies to develop their signature bump on the bottom.)

9. Fill each mold approximately 2/3 full with batter. Be sure not to overfill the molds - the cookies will rise as they bake. If filled too high, they will spill over the edges as they bake.

10. Bake them for approximately 12 minutes. Do not place them on a sheet tray in your oven - just directly on the racks is best. They are done when they have risen and a toothpick comes out cleanly when inserted into the middle of a cookie.

11. Remove from the oven and immediately remove cookies to cool on a cooling rack. This should be easily done by simply turning over the molds. (If the cookies don’t fall right out, gently use a knife to help them along.)

12. While cooling, make the icing.

13. When the cookies are completely cooled to room temperature, apply the icing if desired.

Directions for icing

1. Fill a small saucepan with an inch of water. Set on the stove over medium heat, and place a glass bowl (or other non-meltable material) on top of the saucepan to create a double-boiler. (The steam created in the pot will warm the underside of the bowl and melt the chocolate.)

2. Put the white chocolate in the bowl, and stir occasionally as it melts until it is completely smooth, without any lumps.

3. When fully melted, remove from the heat and stir in the raspberry powder and food coloring. Mix thoroughly to incorporate.

4. While mixture is still warm (not hot, just warm), pour a tablespoon of icing into the bottom of each Madeleine mold. (Make sure to clean them first. Don’t just pop out the cookies and then add icing.) Gently press the shell-shaped side of a cookie into the mold. Doing so will squish the frosting throughout the mold, covering that side of the cookie completely. Gently press until you see icing appear at the lip of each mold. (Don’t go past that point, or icing will spill out over the edges of each cookie mold.)

5. Place the mold into your freezer for 20 minutes. (This solidifies the icing on the cookie, and lets them pop right out of the mold. It also yields a smooth, even layer on the cookie.)

*Madeleines are best enjoyed the day they are made, but can be made a day ahead and kept in an air-tight container. If you do make them ahead, do not apply the icing. The day of serving, bake the cookies at 350°F for five minutes and let cool to room temperature. (They will be as good as new!) Then apply the icing as described above.