Donsuemor, a family-owned bakery from the SF Bay Area, recently reached out to us to to sample their Traditional Madeleines in advance of their upcoming french cookie* launch in the Los Angeles region. Being the generous souls we are here at Costco97, doing God’s work, taking the tough assignments just for our loyal Costco fanatics, we happily accepted.

[*Side bar: Are these cookies or are these mini cakes? My daughter got into an argument with me yesterday, insisting they were NOT cookies, they are cakes. It’s quite difficult to categorize them, actually. In fact, Donsuemor themselves call them both cookies and cakes in their marketing. How is that for confusing? We don’t care – we call them DELICIOUS!]

OK, on to the review of these sweet & petite morsels…

Packaging

We love the fact that these come individually wrapped in their own protective cocoon of cellophane. Keeps them nice and fresh – and they are very easy to open. Also keeps your office workers’ grubby little paws off these tasty treats if you buy them for office snacks. Heaven forbid these are left “naked” and defenseless in the break room only to have Bob in Accounting (AKA the Booger King) rummaging about the plastic tub with his sticky fingers just to get to the one on the bottom that looks the biggest (Hey Bob – they’re all the same size!).

Donsuemor Traditional Madeleines

There are about 28 1-oz. madeleines per container.  Costco Item Number: 8051

Appearance

Not much to say here except these look like traditional madeleines. Each slightly golden, shell-shaped cookie/cake is approximately 3 inches long and 2 inches at its widest point. They are very

plump in the middle and get thinner are you get to the edges. They also have the traditional scalloped look of a sea shell.

Taste & Texture

Sweet, but not too sweet. Light but with some body & substance. Soft but not crumbly.  Cakey yet toothsome.  Small but satisfying**. These little babies strike the perfect balance in almost every way. The very outer edges are just the slightest bit crispy…no, crispy is not the word. Carmelized? That’s closer. The middle is soft with just a little bit of firmness.  The flavor is buttery and light with just a hint of vanilla, not overpowering in any way. We enjoyed ours with a glass of cold milk, but suspect these will go very well with hot tea also.

Ingredients & Nutrition Facts

At 130 calories per madeleine (7g fat – 3.5 unsaturated / 0 trans), eating  one could satisfy your sweet tooth if you’re trying to keep calorie consumption down – the problem is that they are so dang good you might not be able to stop at just one.  Having two would definitely be plenty for most people. (Full disclosure, this reviewer ate three – all in the name of writing a very thorough review, of course. The things I do for you!)   There are 16g of carbs (10 sugar) and 2g of protein.

The ingredient list is relatively simple and pure – plus there are no preservatives. Oh, and did we mention they are Kosher? Ingredients include: sugar, flour, butter, eggs, natural flavorings, canola oil, water, invert sugar, nonfat milk, and baking powder. That’s it.  Oh, and for those keeping track of these things: they are manufactured on shared equipment processing tree nuts and soy.

Final Verdict

Overall, we definitely recommend giving these a try – especially if you’re a fan of madeleines already. While, admittedly, we are not connoisseurs, we have had them once in Paris and these come pretty darn close to replicating the Parisian bakery taste experience.  Would rate them a solid 8 out of 10.  If you’ve tried them, we’d love to hear your comments below. What’s your favorite way of eating a madeleine?

 

**This is where some might be tempted to blurt out “That’s what she said” …but, nah, we’re too classy for that.