It's Time for Holiday Baking
By Keegan Crowley
Madeleines with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Final exams and the bitter beginning of freezing Syracuse wind may not seem like the jolliest start to the season, but the month of December is still one of the most exciting times of the year! With all the Christmas carols, snowmen, and gingerbread houses, I can barely contain my exhilaration.
The only reason my friends put up with me is because the holiday festivities put me in the mood to make a copious amount of holiday cookies.
I started off the season with this batch of Madeleines with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. Take an hour to whip these up and your friends will come crawling back for more.
Ingredients:
For Madeleines: 1 stick butter (and extra for pan) 4 eggs ¼ tsp salt 1/2 cup sugar 1 tbsp honey 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup flour Madeleine pan, mini muffin pan, or regular muffin pan
For Frosting: 8 oz Cream Cheese 1 cup Confectioners Sugar 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 375 and melt butter in saucepan.
2. Grease pan with butter, and set aside nearby.
3. When butter is completely melted, stir in honey.
4. Mix together sugar, eggs, salt, and vanilla. Combine for about 8 minutes until mixture is thick.
5. Add the flour while continuing to stir quickly.
6. Keep stirring and add butter/honey mixture.
7. Keep your cool while quickly spooning about one tablespoon of the mixture into each cup. If using a regular muffin pan be sure you don’t fill up more than half way. If using a mini muffin pan, be sure you don’t fill up more than ¾ way. Fill to rim if using a Madeleine pan. If you have a muffin top pan, these can also be great for this recipe, just fill ¾ full.
8. Bake for up to 8 minutes, but these can burn quickly, so check on them after four minutes, and keep checking until edges just begin to brown.
9. Let cool for an hour before frosting.
10. While cookies cool, whip cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Stir in sugar and cinnamon until consistency is even throughout. Store in cool temperature, but not the fridge if you plan on using the frosting within an hour.
Sloppy Seconds
The one thing better than a leftover sandwich the day after Thanksgiving: leftover wine. Pepperwood Grove Cabernet Sauvignon was the wine of choice for my family’s Thanksgiving Day feast. This California cab is light enough to enjoy with cheese and crackers without being overwhelming, but substantial enough, with notes of raspberry and cedar, to pair with your turkey leftovers.
Finishing off a bottle with my mom after hectic Black Friday shopping was a highlight of my break. I suggest popping open a bottle to pair with cheese, crackers, and leftover stuffing. Bottles range from eight to fifteen dollars so don't feel guilty about not sharing.
Keegan Crowley is a regular contributor to A Bite and a Sip, updated Tuesdays.