Carla Hall's Clever Decorating Trick For Holiday Madeleines

Carla Hall is renowned for elevating dishes to suit special occasions or holidays, whether it's a red, white, and blue berry cake for the Fourth of July or a patriotic pop tart. For the holiday season, the chef has turned her attention to madeleines, dipping the sweet treats in melted red, white, and green candy to give them a delightfully festive appearance. Hall described the result as "an art project — and it's edible."

Hall opts for candy melts rather than regular chocolate for the decorative coating. These candy coin shapes are made from sugar, milk solids, vegetable oils, flavorings, and coloring. In addition to their wide range of colors, candy melts melt quickly and evenly, and don't take long to harden. Using them also eliminates the tricky process of tempering chocolate.

To create her madeleine designs — whether a poinsettia pattern or colorful stripes — Hall uses piping bags. The best way to achieve the right consistency for piping is to melt the candy melts in short bursts in the microwave at 50% power. Pipe the design into the madeleine tray, dip the cookies while the mixture is still wet, and then let it set before removing them. The candy will firm up in about 10 to 20 minutes when chilled in the fridge. To add even more of a festive feel, you can experiment with different flavors as well as decorations.

Chef Carla Hall relies on a simple, classic recipe for her madeleines, featuring rich melted butter and aromatic lemon zest. However, it's easy enough to incorporate more seasonal flavors. Ground cinnamon is a great option on its own, or you can make your own pumpkin pie spice blend by combining cinnamon with ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Gingerbread spices also make a tasty addition, or you could try glazed eggnog madeleines for the holidays.

For a fragrant chocolate-orange twist, flavor the madeleines with the juice and zest of a clementine, then decorate them with dark chocolate. Or, create a mint chocolate version by incorporating cocoa powder and peppermint. If you want to dip them like Hall, try using melted chocolate and crushed candy canes.

Another way to make madeleines perfect for the holidays is to present them with a festive flair. Use icing to decorate them with Santa faces or dreidels, or turn the dessert into a show-stopping centerpiece by adding green food coloring to the batter and using a mold to shape them into a fir tree or Hanukkah bush. If that sounds too complex, you could arrange the green cookies in a ring pattern on a large plate to resemble a festive wreath instead. Use sweet mousse as "glue" to hold them in place, add pops of color with maraschino cherries, and sprinkle the madeleines with powdered sugar for a snowy finish.