Orange Honey Madeleines

Proust’s famous remembrance of the madeleine misses something profoundly important about these cookies. Madeleines are about savoring – but not just the end result. Madeleines also require savoring the process of making them. Madeleines require just a bit of patience, of enjoying the process of browning the butter, of beating the eggs, of buttering and flouring the pan oh so carefully to make sure you get all the ridges in each scallop. They are about savoring the image of the batter sitting in the madeleine tins before they make their way into the oven, and of waiting for them to cool once they have come out of the oven. Madeleines are about making that pot of tea and sitting down with the plate of madeleines that have just been dusted with powdered sugar and the perfectly brewed cup of tea and then finally, savoring each cake-like morsel.