Black Forest Tea-Infused Madeleine Cookies

Madeleine Cookies are shell-shaped French tea cakes with crispy edges and a cakey texture. My Black Forest Tea-Infused Cherry Madeleine Cookies recipe can be prepared in under 30 minutes, yet is elegant enough to serve at a formal tea or brunch. They're perfect with a hot cup of coffee or tea.

If you've never watched Downton Abbey (paid link) before, let me just say, you're missing out! My daughter even has a tradition of rewatching the entire series every year! So when I found a Downton Abbey Tea Cookbook I knew I had to buy it for her.

I browsed through the book online and found a classic Madeleine pastries recipe that looked promising. I bought the book for Nena, along with a Madeleine mold so that we could bake the cookies during my visit to San Diego.

This Madeleine Cookie recipe is inspired by the recipe in the book, but we decided to take it to a whole new level. For starters, we infused a Black Forest tea into the cookies. We also replaced the vanilla extract with almond extract and added orange zest and dried cherries into the batter. Finally, we dipped them in dark chocolate. I encrusted some of them with chopped almonds. The end result was fantastic!

Why This Recipe Works

These Black Forest Tea-Infused Cherry Madeleine Cookies are so easy to prepare, and definitely a beginner-friendly recipe! You don't need a stand mixer or even a hand mixer. What you do need is 30 minutes, a bowl, a whisk, and of course, a Madeleine mold (paid link).

The simple batter does not need to rest for hours as some Madeleine recipes do, however, a little resting time (say around 10 minutes) seems to do the trick. Although the Madeleines are tea-infused with Black Forest loose tea, you can substitute cherry-flavored tea if you need to.

What Goes Into This Recipe

Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions

• Butter — This recipe calls for unsalted butter. If you only have salted butter, leave out the amount of salt that the recipe calls for.
• Tea — If you have black forest tea, great! If not, you can find a link to where you can purchase some online towards the bottom of the page. You can also use cherry-flavored tea instead.
• Dried Cherries — To keep with the black forest flavors, we added dried cherries to the batter. If you have to, you can use dried cranberries instead.
• Orange Zest — Lemon zest can be substituted for Orange zest.
• Dark Chocolate — Instead of dark chocolate, you can use semi-sweet or white chocolate chips. Or, dust the cooled cookies with powdered sugar.
• Nuts (optional) — Chopped almonds, pistachios, or walnuts can be used to encrust the chocolate-covered Madeleines before they set.
• Almond Extract — The almond extract has a distinct flavor that compliments the cookies, however, pure vanilla extract can be substituted in a pinch.

Step 1 | Infuse Tea

Preheat oven to 375° F

Add tea to a small bowl or cup and pour ¼ cup boiling water over it. Allow it to steep for 5 minutes. 

Step 2 | Melt the Butter

Melt butter in the microwave (15 to 30 seconds) and allow it to cool down but not solidify.

Step 3 | Butter Madeleine Mold

Brush Madeleine mold with melted butter and set it aside until needed.

Step 4 | Whisk Eggs and Sugar

In a large bowl, vigorously whisk eggs, sugar, orange zest, almond extract, and salt for a minute or two until light and fluffy. 

Step 5 | Add Tea

Add 2 teaspoons of tea and 1 tablespoon of the tea leaves to the batter. Mix to combine.

Step 6 | Stir Cherries into Flour

Chop and stir dried cherries into all-purpose flour. Mix gently into the bowl ingredients. 

Step 7 | Fold In Melted Butter

Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the melted and cooled butter into the batter.

Step 8 | Baking Instructions

Scoop 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each buttered Madeleine mold. Rest the batter for 10 minutes then bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the pan, front to back, halfway through.

Remove the pan from the oven when the cookies have set and are golden around the edges. Immediately invert the pan onto a wire rack. Cool the cookies completely.

Step 9 | Dip Madeleines in Chocolate

Add chocolate chips to a small deep bowl and melt in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until the chips are completely melted. Dip the Madeleines into the melted chocolate.

Carefully rest the cookies on a wire rack and chill them in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to set the chocolate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Recipe FAQs

Pro Tips

• Some recipes suggest resting the batter for a minimum of one hour prior to baking. The resting period thickens the batter and yields a better texture. This recipe only requires approximately 10 minutes of resting time once in the mold prior to baking.
• The Black Forest Gateaux tea in this recipe has citrus, cherry, and chocolate flavors that really compliment the recipe. If you'd like to purchase some, here's the link.
• Madeleine Cookies are commonly dusted with confectioner's sugar. If you prefer, you can skip the chocolate and dust the cooled cookies with powdered sugar instead.

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