Gluten Free Pumpkin Madeleines with Pumpkin Spice Glaze

Need some fancy pants desserts to wow your out-of-town relatives tomorrow? Or just want to have a pre-Thanksgiving high tea fit for queens? We’ve got you covered with these gluten free pumpkin madeleines. And these aren’t just any gluten free pumpkin madeleines, they’ve got brown butter (a glorious ingredient I recommend putting in nearly everything), AND pumpkin spice glaze. As background for this post, I’ve actually tried making madeleines twice now with different recipes and equally disastrous outcomes. Either they were too stiff and so didn’t fit the delicate mold and just ended up looking like lumps of raspberry coal, or the batter was too thin and rose too quickly, leading to a madeleine overflow and a lot of pancakey bits that completely ignored the shallow indentations of the pan. The third time is truly the charm because these pumpkin madeleines were perfect. I note below how full to fill each indentation (do not go over!) and ensure that you’ll produce family-awe-inducing treats.

If you’re like us, you’ve seen perfect little madeleines all over for the past few years – stocked next to Starbucks registers or in big plastic containers at Costco. Sometimes being gluten free sucks – BUT it can also be a strong motivator to get shit done. What do we do when those petit cakey treats taunt us while we’re getting our plain Grande Earl Grey? We learn how to make them ourselves. HA, take that mass-produced glutenous baked goods.

If you’re celebrating Turkey Day this week, your kitchen schedule may already be a terrifying reminder of how many dishes you’ll be recruiting cousins to clean by 5pm on the 28th, but adding these to the mix will add a brand new take on pumpkin-themed desserts for the holiday. They’re also fast! As we may all be aware, oven time is coveted around Thanksgiving, so having something that takes under 15 minutes to bake is ideal (hint, these only take 11!). They’re also just fun – who doesn’t want their own shell-shaped pumpkin cake to munch on after plate fulls of mashed potatoes and gravy? If you have any younger cousins or nieces and nephews attending the festivities, these might just be the ticket for a culinary project (at least the dunking-in-glaze part, if not the actual spooning into molds).

I can already tell you that our 15+ person Thanksgiving will involve a couple dozen of these perfectly-shaped pumpkin bites since we have some leftover and need a hoard of hungry relatives to eat them! Sometimes it’s just a pleasant surprise to have something other than pie and ice cream on the dessert table (though by all means make those pies! we’ll be making at least six…).  Do what tastes good and have a great holiday!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Gluten Free Browned Butter Pumpkin Madeleines with Pumpkin Spice Glaze

Tiny cakes with a pop of pumpkin and dreamy pumpkin spice glaze

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time12 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, French

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: easy, fall, glaze, gluten free, madeleines, pumpkin, pumpkin cake, pumpkin spice

Servings: 24 madeleines

Calories: 75kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Madeleine pan

Ingredients

For the madeleines:

• 2/3 Cup salted butter
• 3 Large eggs
• 1/3 Cup white sugar
• 1/3 Cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 Cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp each: ground ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, salt
• 3/4 Cup gluten free flour 1-1 mix containing xanthan gum
• 1/4 Cup arrowroot starch
• 1 tsp baking powder

For the glaze:

• 1 1/4 Cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp each: ground nutmeg, ginger, cloves
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-3 Tbsp milk

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Grease one 12-indent madeleine pan (or two 12-indent pans if you have them) and set aside. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and stir constantly, continuing to cook, until the butter turns a light brown color and smells nutty or caramelly. Once it reaches light brown, take off the heat and pour into a heat-proof container to cool a bit (scrape any brown residue into the container as well). Let cool until just above room temp but not solid.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients for the madeleines: the gluten free 1-1 flour, arrowroot starch, baking powder, salt, and spices, then set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the eggs and the white and brown sugar, on high speed, until thick and lighter in color (about 3-4 minutes). Add in the pumpkin and vanilla and continue to beat until combined. Put away the mixer, then use a spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the pumpkin batter until smooth and combined. Lastly, slowly pour in the cooled browned butter and fold in using the spatula. Once combined, spoon one scant tablespoon of batter into each madeleine indentation. Do NOT fill past about 1/2 way or 2/3 of the way (leaving a solid 1/4 of an inch from the rim), or the batter will overflow and you won't have the iconic madeleine shape. Lightly tap the pan on the counter to release any tiny air bubbles in the batter.
• Bake each tray for 10-12 minutes until firm and spongy to the touch but not too brown around the edges. Let cool completely before tipping them out of the tray onto a rack.
• While the madeleines are baking, make the glaze. In a small bowl, combine all of the glaze ingredients at once and whisk together until smooth and combined, starting with 1 Tbsp of milk and adding more as needed for a thick, but still liquid/runny glaze. Set aside until madeleines are out of their trays and cooled, then dip each madeleine in the glaze or drizzle it over them. Then serve!

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your madeleines!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber