Orange Madeleines (with video link for Christmas Tree version)

Mmm mmm mmm :) Happy to report and share another success: found a great and easy recipe for a French classic: les madeleines. These cute little cakes can be flavored in different ways--most typical are lemon, orange, and rose water.  I prefer the citrus ones, personally, thus this recipe was just what I'd been after.  I give this a 10 of 10--I even forgot to dust them with powdered sugar before serving and they've been disappearing rapidly from my kitchen :)

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/kn4V6f1ksVo

Link to original recipe: https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/orange-madeleines/7e438a94-05c0-4c88-a999-c4725e1c0b43

Ingredients:

1 egg, separated
1/2 c. sugar, separated
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. milk (I used skim, but I think you could use any variety)
2 T. canola oil
1 T. Grand Marnier (orange-flavored liqueur (or you could sub OJ if desired))
1/2 T. baking powder
1/2 T. orange zest
1/4 tsp. salt
powdered sugar for dusting, if desired

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F.  Grease and flour 3-inch madeleine molds (mine were just shy of this measurement and worked fine; if you don't have these, you would use mini-muffin tins or cupcake pans--just be sure to adjust the baking time).

2. In  small mixing bowl, beat egg white until foamy with mixer on high speed.

3. Beat in 4 T. of the sugar, 1 T. at a time.  Continue beating until stiff and glossy, then set aside.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg yolk, remaining sugar, and all other remaining ingredients (except powdered sugar for dusting) with mixer on high speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl as needed.

5. Fold egg white meringue into egg yolk batter.

6. Fill molds 3/4 full (original recipe said 2/3, but I think mine were closer to 3/4).  Tap pan firmly on counter to remove air bubbles.

7. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are light brown (mine were about 10 1/2 min. per batch).

8. Cool slightly before removing from pan to cool on wire rack.  *note: you may want to line rack with parchment or wax paper, as these tend to get a little stuck to the rack as they cool.

9. If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.  Enjoy!