Abbie Hoffman, of Lutherville, Maryland, was hoping to get the recipe for the wonderful little butter cookies/cakes that are frequently served with along with cappuccino at Petit Louis Bistro in Roland Park, Maryland. She said they provide just the right amount of sweetness at the end of a rich meal and was hoping to be able to make them at home.

I reached out to Travis Marley, the executive pastry chef for the Foreman Wolf Restaurant Group, which owns Petit Louis. Marley graciously shared his recipe for the special little cakelike cookies he makes for the restaurants.

The cookie is his adaptation of a traditional French madeleine, and Marley said they can be the perfect little treat at the end of a meal for people who don’t want to eat a whole dessert.

His recipe is fairly simple and can be made using a full-sized madeleine mold or in mini madeleine pans, as he does for the restaurants. The mini pans can be found at most baking supply stores and will produce the delicate little cakes that Hoffman liked so much.

Unlike a traditional madeleine recipe, Marley’s does not call for melting and browning the butter. Instead, the butter is simply creamed with the powdered sugar, as it would be in most cake or cookie recipes. It’s a good idea to chill the dough for a few hours or even overnight before piping it into the molds and baking. The little cakes, crispy on the outside and with a sponge cakelike interior, are best served the same day they are baked. If by some miracle you have some left over, they will keep in an airtight container for a day or two or can be frozen.

Requests

Ann Harrison, of Timonium, Maryland, is a big fan of the rice pudding served at the Silver Spring Mining Co. in Perry Hall and Cockeysville, Maryland. She said it is particularly sweet and creamy, and she is hoping the restaurant will share the recipe.

Susan Macht, of Baltimore, is in search of the recipe for the pistachio cream-filled, chocolate-covered macaroons that were sold many years ago at the Mandell Ballow restaurant in the Hilltop Shopping Center.