Madeleine Cookie Recipe (Halloween Dessert)

My husband Lulu loves madeleines. It always reminds him of our trips to Paris. I haven't made any in so long, I thought it was time to surprise him with a fresh batch. I made the madeleines Halloween-friendly by giving them a green color and decorating them with Halloween-themed designs. Pandan is my green food color of choice, and I've flavored and colored a lot of French desserts with it in the past.

Most of the madeleines I've had in America are flat, dry and not very tasty, so I wouldn't be surprised if you're not a fan. The authentic French version must have "the bump" (follow the recipe and you'll find out the secret for fool-proof madeleines) to be truly fluffy and tasty. It creates a light and delicate gourmet cookie that is so pleasant with a hot cup of tea. Not to forget the kid-friendly part, I decorated the madeleines with sprinkles and chocolate chips and wrote spooky messages that for sure will satisfy both big and little kids! And Lulu is most definitely a big kid. He still loves taking his kid sisters trick-or-treating so that he can raid their bags of candy later on. Maybe with these madeleines in the house, he'll stop stealing their sweet treats!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Halloween Cookies: Dried Fruit Cookie Recipe

I read this morning in the news that the White House held a pre-Halloween party that included cookies and dried fruit today. It inspired me to make a batch of dried fruit cookies for our own festivities. I mixed raisins, dried cherries, dried kiwis, dried apricots, honey and pecans into a basic sugar cookie dough. I made a fair number that I kept in an airtight tin so the kids can enjoy them all the way through to Monday evening.

The cookies are decorated with very cute renditions of Dracula and a spooky witch. The designs are in the form of peel-&-press edible frosting stickers, which were very convenient, given my utter lack of drawing skills. If you'd like to get similar designs, you can find them at Ticings®. They come in thin sheets of edible icing using food-grade inks that easy apply to almost any soft-frosted dessert.

Our team at PhamFatale.com has worked hard and has prepared almost $1,000-worth of giveaways for the month of December just for you. Ticings® will be part of it, so you can add holiday art to your classic baking. Stay tuned!