Grab a cup of coffee or tea and settle in for a bite of these moist lemony Gluten Free Lemon Madeleines. Bursting with fresh lemon flavor and a dusting of powdered sugar, these are one of my favorite cake-like cookies.
Lemon desserts are a thing here thanks to our very productive lemon tree. If you are looking for even more gluten free lemon desserts, I have you covered with a ton of great recipes!
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Today we are celebrating the bounty from our mighty lemon tree. I think our tree is a little mad at us, we finally had to prune it because it was getting too tall...hopefully, we will still get our delicious giant lemons!
A madeleine is a cross between a cake and a cookie, and that moist sponginess is what made me fall in love with these cookies. They are so easy to make.
Why this gluten free madeleines recipe is great:
My easy gluten free madeleines recipe is a must make because they are so light and fluffy. A true French madeleine is know for their cake-like texture and this recipe nails it.
You can make these lemon flavored, or omit the lemon juice and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla to make these more traditional.
If you want to try more madeleines, why not make these gluten free butterscotch madeleines or these gluten free matcha green tea madeleines? If you are looking for special holiday flavors, you can't go wrong with these gluten free pumpkin madeleines or these gluten free chocolate peppermint madeleines.
Ingredient notes:
- Gluten free flour blend - I tested this recipe using Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend and King Arthur's Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- Xanthan gum - If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Non-dairy milk - I used almond milk but other dairy-free kinds of milk will work but I do not recommend canned coconut milk.
- Butter - to make these fully dairy-free, use vegan butter.
Recipe step by step directions:
Are you ready to see how easy these gluten free madeleines are to make?
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350º F. In a large bowl, add your dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
Step 2: In a smaller bowl, add your wet ingredients and mix well. Make sure your butter is melted, but not too hot or it can cook your eggs.
Step 3: Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is "just barely mixed." This is my best secret to making light and fluffy cake like gluten free madeleines.
I do not recommend using a standing mixer because it overmixes your batter and this affects the texture of your madeleines.
Step 4: Add your batter to the greased madeleine pan and bake for 15 minutes until done. You can tell your madeleines are baked when you touch the top of a madeleine and it feels firm.
Remove from the oven and allow cooling on a cooling rack. When cool, dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with melted chocolate.
If you love lemon cookies, give this easy Gluten Free Lemon Sugar Cookies recipe a try too!
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:
For me, madeleines are best fresh. They will keep for a few days, but they lose the crispiness to the edges when they are more than a day old. You can dust your madeleines in powdered sugar, dip in chocolate, or eat them plain. I even like to dip them in my coffee!
You can either spray your madeleine pan with coconut oil or rub the pan with butter to prevent your madeleines from sticking.
You can easily make this recipe dairy-free by using non-dairy milk and a vegan butter like Smart Balance.
The best way to make sure your madeleines are light and fluffy is to not overmix the batter. This is important in gluten free baking and why I do not recommend a standing mixer for this recipe.
These madeleines will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
More gluten free lemon recipes:
- This Gluten Free Lemon Pound Cake is one of the best cakes on the blog.
- If you love loaf cake, this Easy Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake is a family favorite.
- My Gluten Free Lemon Layer Cake makes a great birthday cake.
- These Creamy Gluten Free Lemon Sour Cream Cakes are light and fluffy.
I LOVE hearing from you!! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest to see even more delicious recipes!
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Lemon Madeleines
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- ¾ cups sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- dash salt
- ½ cup butter melted
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cups milk or non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
For Icing
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice depending on how thick you want your icing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- In a large bowl, add your dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
- Add your wet ingredients into a smaller bowl and whisk to blend.
- Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until they are just barely mixed. Do not overmix your batter.
- Allow the batter to rest for 10 minutes.
- Spray your madeleine pan with coconut oil, or grease with butter.
- Add some batter to each madeleine section.
- Bake for 10 minutes until they are firm to touch on top.
- Cool then dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF, Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend, and Authentic Foods Multi Blend in this recipe. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Try not to overmix your batter. Your madeleines will be lighter if you don't overmix the batter.
- These cookies will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Nutrition
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Karen M.
I made these today and they were very good, I used King Arthur one to one gf flour. I do think they need a little more
lemon flavor. Mine didn't quite look like yours but I think I over filled the tin. I put my batter in a piping bag but those had more air holes in them. I had some batter left so I just spooned it in the tin and those came out better. Don't over fill the tin. I drizzled some lemon glaze over them, giving them more lemon flavor.
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you liked them Karen 🙂
Karen M
I love your recipes! I use yours more than any gf blog.
Sandi Gaertner
Wow, I think you made my year. Thank you so much for the compliment Karen, it means a lot to me 🙂