Scrumptious French Coconut Madeleine Cookies (Gluten Free)

SCRUMPTIOUS French Coconut Madeleine Cookies  (Gluten Free)

These cute little sponge cakes called “Madeleines” have quite a history!    In mid 1700’s France, King Louis XV was said to have called these  shell shaped cookies Madeleines, after his Father-in-law’s cook.  They are often lemon flavored and are the perfect pairing with tea as dunking the spongy center with it’s slightly crunchy edge makes a very satisfying snack.  Every pastry shop in France offers these treats, some chocolate dipped, others with a ground nuts mixed into the sweet batter. Even Proust, in the 1920’s, wrote in his autobiography: “

She sent for one of those squat plump little cakes called “petites madeleines,” which look as though they had been molded in the fluted valve of a scallop shell … I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure invaded my senses …

And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray … when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Leonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane …. and the whole of Combray and its surroundings, taking shape and solidity, sprang into being, town and garden alike, from my cup of tea.“

Well who wouldn’t want to have a Madeleine after reading that!

This wonderful recipe is inspired by my Mom’s cookies that she surprised us with last week.  They are very simple to make, in one bowl and in 25 minutes you can have a warm stack of cookies to hand out.

Coconut Madeleine Cookies ( Gluten Free)

2 large Eggs

1/2 cup Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

1 tablespoon Canola oil

1/2 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

1/2 cup Authentic Foods Gluten Free CLASSIC MIX  ( or brown rice flour blend without gums or raising agents)

              http://authenticfoods.com/products/item/43/GF-Classical-Blend

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray Madeleine pan ( full size pans have 12 cookie molds, Mini Madeleine pans have more. This recipe makes 12 large cookies.

In a medium mixing bowl, whip eggs with sugar for 3-4 minutes. Add in Vanilla and oil and mix well. Stir in Coconut and brown rice flour and mix just until fully blended.

Spoon batter into the 12 molds on the Madeleine pan. Bake 15-18 minutes until golden brown on top.

Remove from oven and turn out cookies to cool on rack.  Dust with sugar and serve or dip in melted chocolate and let harden for an hour.

Tags: cake, coconut, cookies, gluten-free, snack

• September 2, 2013
• Gluten-Free baking, Healthy Eating
• 2 Comments