It’s UN French Language Day and We’ve Got Some Cookies for You
CiklopeaToday (20 March) is the day we celebrate the UN French Language Day. The event was established by UN’s Department of Public Information in 2010 “to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the Organization“.
In addition to diversity, wine, fashion, literature and graphic novels, France is also a home of delicious gastronomic pearls, and we’ve decided to celebrate this day with one of the most popular French pastries. Our Chloe tried herself in baking, so she prepared the recipe for petit and sweet madeleine cookies.
Madeleine is a traditional cookie from Commercy and Liverdun, two communes of the Lorraine region in northeastern France.
Although there are many legends of their origin, everybody agrees on one thing – they’re delicious and they go perfectly with a cup of tea or coffee. Even Marcel Proust, the famous French writer, recognized the power of madeleines in his epic novel In Search of Lost Time (F.K.A. Remembrance of Things Past). The role of madeleines in his work is to bring back memories and nostalgia and taste of another, lost times.
To help you recall your own memories in these final days of winter, we’re bringing you an easy-to-follow madeleine recipe, with only few basic ingredients.
*Before you start, make sure you have a proper mold for madeleines.
For this pastry, you’ll need:
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
- Powdered sugar
Photo: MairieSY
- Preheat oven to 375 °F (190 °C).
- Grease and flour the pan for large madeleines.
- With an electric mixer, beat eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl just to blend.
- Beat in vanilla, lemon peel and salt.
- Add flour and beat just until blended.
- Gradually add cooled melted butter in steady stream, beating just until blended.
- Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into each indentation in pan. Bake until puffed and brown, about 15 min read readutes. Before removing them from the pan, let them cool for 5 min readutes.
- Dust cookies with powdered sugar, if desired.
And that’s it. Bon appétit!