chocolate orange madeleines

A Christmas cookie that evokes joyful memories...

When you were a kid, what do you remember getting in your stocking? For me, there were two things.

First, underwear. This one was more of a scarring experience as the last time it was dropped in my stocking I was old enough to be mortified by it as I pulled them out in front of uncles, aunts, and cousins. I’m glad that gift stopped showing up… I know my grandparents meant well, but it was not the thing I wanted to bring out as everyone watched me open my stocking as a young age.

Ok, let’s move past that to the second thing (which is the relevant thing since this post is not in fact about underwear)… Second, a fresh orange.

This was always at the very bottom of the stocking, filling it out perfectly so that the toe was rounded just the right way. I don’t know if my grandma Alice stuffed the oranges at the bottom for the look or just because it was the last thing she wanted us to pull out. Regardless, that fresh orange was always in there.

In addition to those fresh oranges, there were always chocolate oranges around on Christmas morning. My mom always put one of those in my stocking when we didn’t go to my grandparents’ house instead of a fresh orange (let’s face it, I never ate the fresh one as a kid… so, thanks Mom!).

Chocolate and orange is a holiday flavor combination that brings back all those memories of Christmas mornings spent in the living room filled with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and whoever else happened to pop by. I can still remember the smell of the fresh pine tree as we eagerly waited for everyone to arrive so we could open presents.

This year, I finally made my wish to put together a Christmas cookie box happen (keep an eye on the blog for that one!). Over three days, 8 different treats were baked and assembled. While I love all of the treats that were made, these chocolate orange madeleines were the crowning achievement.

I TEMPERED CHOCOLATE IN THE MICROWAVE PEOPLE.