Vegan Madeleines

I've been thinking about starting this blog--and taking a lot of pictures--for a long time, so it may seem a little odd that my first post is something that didn't turn out as well as I would have liked it to. But failure is often a big part of vegan cooking. So this is a learning a post. I tried to veganize something I never even tried in a non-vegan state, which is odd, and although the results weren't as pretty as those perfect little packages at the Starbucks counter, they were tasty. And who can resist those tiny little flecks of vanilla seeds?

Vegan Vanilla Bean Madeleines--first trial

2 Tbsp ground flax seed
6 Tbsp water
6 Tbsp margarine, melted
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean

Preheat oven to 400. Blend flax seed and water in blender until gelatinous. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt, then flax mixture, margarine, and vanilla and mix until combined. Grease madeleine pan and fill each mold 3/4 full. Bake for ten minutes.

I used a mini madeleine pan, because mini=cute, so maybe a larger pan would have resulted in a less crispy cookie. And if you fill the molds too much, the cookies get a strange rim around the edge. This batch came out a little oily and cupcake-like, with an odd, faint taste of popcorn, probably from the spray oil. Next time I'll definitely take the time to melt some extra marge. But the edges did come out nicely crispy. And despite the popcorny-ness, they were tasty.