Madeleine inspired Melting Moments

I have an easy, elegant and scrumptious little cookie

to share with you today! It's a Melting Moments cookie baked 

in a mini Madeleine pan! I used the same recipe as my Melting 

Moments Sandwiches with Raspberry Buttercream, but this 

time I pressed pieces of the dough into my French Madeleine 

pan, baked them, then sprinkled them with powdered

sugar to serve. 

I used this same technique for my Orange Shortbread Madeleines.

I really liked the way this pan showed off the lovely details of the 

Melting Moments cookies. I used a darker non-stick pan for the 

orange shortbread madeleines and they weren't as pretty.

I didn't even have to butter the pan before baking. Then I 

let them cool for 3 or 4 minutes, gently tapped the pan 

on the counter and they fell right out.

I let them cool completely on a wire rack, and dusted them

with a light sprinkling of powdered sugar. How easy is that?!

I think these are a perfect easy addition to a 

Spring Tea Party menu! 

Madeleine inspired MELTING MOMENTS 

2 sticks (250g) butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used clear)

1/2 cup (80g) icing (confectioners') sugar, sifted

1 1/2 cups (225g) all purpose flour

1/2 cup (75g) cornstarch (cornflour)

Preheat oven to 325F (160C).

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Into a bowl, sift together the all purpose flour

and the cornstarch/cornflour. 

Beat butter, extract and confectioners' sugar

with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

On lowest speed, add flour mixture in two

batches.

Divide dough into quarters. Onto a surface dusted with 

a light coating of powdered sugar, Roll each quarter into 

a log about 9"-10" long and 1 1/4" round. Slice each log 

into 1/2 inch wide slices and press each piece into a 

Non-stick Mini Madeleine pan. Bake for about 15 

minutes. 

Let cool in pan for 3-4 minutes. Remove cookies from 

pan by gently tapping on work surface, then transfer 

them to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 

approximately 80 tiny cookies.

To serve: Lightly dust cookies with powdered sugar

then arrange on a vintage plate. Place a few

edible flowers around for an extra pretty

touch! Enjoy!

Today I'd like to sit and sip

Forget about the world a bit,

Ignore the things I have to do,

         And just enjoy a cup or two. - Unknown

BONBON Cookies - The Best Cookie of 1955-60

Today I'd like to share a really fun cookie that was all

the rage between 1955-60.  The BONBON Cookie - a

delightful little cookie that was baked with a candy

surprise in the middle, decorated, then served and 

eaten as you would a special box of chocolates!

Here's what Betty Crocker says about them in her

Cooky Book (1963)....

"CANDY - LIKE COOKIES IN VOGUE - Women were

fascinated by these beautiful and delicious cookies which

were baked as cookies, served and eaten as candies."

These little gems are really easy to put together, but I 

highly recommend that you get a small ice cream scoop to 

make these. It guarantees even scoops which gives you a 

very pretty presentation. It also makes things a lot 

easier and faster because the scoop does the shaping

for you. 

After shaping the dough around your filling, pop

 them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

and bake for 15 minutes. Dip tops into prepared icing 

and decorate with small candies, pieces of glace' 

cherries nuts etc.

"FASCINATING NEW BAKING IDEA"

"SO SIMPLE! SO DIFFERENT!

BAKE THEM AS COOKIES!

EAT THEM AS CANDIES!"

BONBON COOKIES

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

Icing:

1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons cream (half & half)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

food coloring of choice 

Directions:

Heat oven to 350º.  In the bowl of a mixer combine butter, 

sugar, vanilla, and food coloring. (if you want to make 

several colors from one recipe you would divide the 

mixture into separate bowls and tint each with your

choice of color.) 

Wrap a level tablespoon of dough around your chosen

filing or using a small ice cream/cookie scoop, fill with

dough then insert filling into center of dough and with

your fingers, press some of the dough around filling

to enclose.

Bake 1" apart on a parchment lined baking sheet 15 

minutes until set but not brown.

Dip tops of warm cookies in icing.

Top each cookie with coconut, nuts, colored sugar,

chocolate pieces or any other colorful topping you

choose.

Variations:

1. Chocolate Dough: add one square unsweetened

chocolate (1oz) melted.

2. Brown Sugar Dough: 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)

in place of confectioners' sugar.

TIPS:

"THESE BON BON COOKIES WILL KEEP A WEEK OR SO

IN A COOL PLACE OR INDEFINITELY IN A FREEZER."

"FOR THE PRETTIEST COLORS MAKE THE DOUGH WITH

HALF SHORTENING AND HALF BUTTER."

I made these two separate times. The first time I made 2 

batches - one using the chocolate variation inserting some 

chocolate chips into the center. The other batch I tinted pink,

 inserting a macadamia nut into the centers.

 The second time, I tried to create a more vintage look,

like those in the book.

These Bonbon Cookies are easy petits fours for a ladies' 

tea party! Serve them in mini cupcake liners for a fancy 

presentation. Just choose your colors and toppings - the

possibilities are endless! 

Happy Baking!!