Crisp at the edges and tender in the center, these Gingerbread Madeleines are a holiday treat! With gingerbread spice and a vanilla bean glaze, you can't go wrong!
Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease a standard size madeleine pan (see note) and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper). Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, sugar, and salt. Beat until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes.
Add molasses and vanilla extract and mix to combine. You may need to scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula to ensure the molasses is incorporated and not just stuck to the bottom of the bowl.
While the mixer is running on low speed, add half the melted butter, followed by half the dry ingredients. Once incorporated, repeat with the remaining melted butter and remaining dry ingredients.
Divide the batter evenly among the wells in madeleine pan. Each well in a standard-size madeleine pan should hold about 1.5 tablespoons batter (see note).
Bake 7-10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of several of the madeleines comes out clean. The madeleines will also spring back after you touch them. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow the madeleines to cool completely before removing them from the pan.
For Glaze:
In a small bowl, combine sifted powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste (see note), and cream. Stir until smooth, then drizzle over the top of each madeleine. If you'd like to submerge them in the glaze, I would double the glaze recipe and add a little more cream to thin the glaze. Allow the glaze to set before serving.Enjoy!
Notes
Note on madeleine pan: My favorite is a standard size madeleine pan that's light in color. The madeleines are tiny little cakes, and a dark-colored pan could have them dried out in no time. If all you have is a darker pan, consider reducing the oven heat by 15 degrees and watch them closely for doneness! The madeleine pan that I use at home and love can be found here (definite bonus points that it's made in the US, too). <3Note on cookie scoop: A scoop isn't necessary to portion out the batter, but I like that it keeps the madeleines more uniform in size and keeps my hands clean. For these madeleines I used my medium cookie scoop, which holds about 1.5 tablespoons of batter. If you're interested in one for yourself, you can find one here.Note on vanilla bean paste: Those beautiful black flecks in the glaze are from vanilla bean paste, one of my favorite ingredients! If you'd like to get some vanilla bean paste, you can find it here. If you'd prefer to substitute, you can use an equal measure of vanilla extract.