Cornbread Madeleines

 Cornbread Madeleines

A few months ago, while I was browsing through my favorite thrift store, I found a wonderful vintage madeleine mold. The mold had scallop shell indentations rather than the usual traditional shape. It was made in France and was of very good quality. Ahh...love at first sight! Not that I need another baking pan but, I seem to be a bit obsessive when it comes to things for my kitchen. I own several madeleine molds already but, they are all the traditional style.  Actually, I have been hunting for the scallop style, since I happened to see one in a Martha Stewart magazine years ago. I love hunting through thrift stores, garage sales and flea markets for the perfect little treasure! So, I brought the mold home! I really wanted to use it right away…and I had just the right recipe. Southern Living magazine had recently published a Cornbread Madeleine recipe that I wanted to bake. The perfect time to try it out!
These little cornbread Madeleines are wonderful.  Light and airy, and not too sweet.  Don’t expect them to resemble those lovely sponge cake Madeleines that Proust was crazy about. These are definitely cornbread consistency, and go perfectly with soups or any meal you would serve cornbread with. I enjoyed mine for breakfast.

My thrift store treasure

filled and ready to bake

Oh so lovely….a perfect accompaniment to soups and salads...

or just by themselves! 

Light, airy and not too sweet

Cornbread Madeleines
Southern Living MARCH 2012 

Yield: Makes 4 dozen
Hands-on: 10 Minutes Total: 1 Hour, 14 Minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups self-rising white cornmeal mix
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar 2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.
Whisk together cornmeal mix, flour, and sugar in a large bowl. Add buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs. Whisk together just until blended. Spoon batter into lightly greased shiny madeleine pans, filling three-fourths full.
Bake, in batches, 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans immediately. Serve hot, or cool completely on wire racks (about 20 minutes), and freeze in zip-top plastic freezer bags up to 1 month.
To serve, arrange desired amount of madeleines on a baking sheet, and bake at 350° for 5 to 6 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

TRY THESE TWISTS
Orange-Rosemary: Prepare recipe as directed, adding 2 Tbsp. orange zest and 1 1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary to dry ingredients.
Lemon-Thyme: Prepare recipe as directed, adding 1 Tbsp. lemon zest and 1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh thyme to dry ingredients.
Spicy White Cheddar: Reduce sugar to 2 Tbsp. Prepare recipe as directed, adding 3/4 cup finely shredded white Cheddar cheese and 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper to dry ingredients.