Last week I went away for a few days to spend some time with my mom and sisters in New York City. It was kind of family bachelorette party! We had the best of times! I had a plan for when I left: I wanted to leave some delicious things for my boyfriend to eat while I was away.The first thing that came to mind was something for breakfast.

He loves, loves muffins so I thought I might bake some chocolate chip muffins for him to enjoy over the weekend. I was going to leave some on the counter for him to eat over the first few mornings I wouldn’t be home, and freeze the rest so he could still enjoy fresh baked muffins the rest of the week. He had only to remove the muffin form the freezer the night before, and heat it for 5 minutes in the morning while he brushed his teeth! Piece of cake!

Back home this day is not a big day, and it has never meant anything special to me. It’s not something I ever celebrated. This has a bright side… I never felt bad for not having a date on February 14th because it was just like any other day. So one less traumatic event form adolescence to worry about!

Now I am surrounded by it and reminded constantly about this big, romantic day! Every pastry shop in Paris is doing cakes to celebrate love as are the chocolate stores… Everything is very very pretty! Gorgeous really. So I decided to give it a go. Plus I happen to have a date for the occasion, so I’m feeling pretty valentiny (yes I justmade up the word!).

When I think of French pastries there are a few that come to mind like financiers, macarons, croissants and off course madeleines. This is what kids eat after school for their "goûter" or tea-time treat. You can find infinite versions; they sell them at the supermarket (you can find many different brands), you can buy them at many boulangeries and there are even some stores in Paris that specialize in Madeleines. One in rue de Martyres that exclusively makes this delicious treat (Mesdemoiselles Madeleines) and a patisserie in Montmartre (La pâtisserie Gilles Marchal) that has a big variety of madeleines amongst their pastries. I tried the caramel version there and it was to die for! If you are ever in that area... Just saying!

And finally you can make these spongy, buttery treats at home. In my opinion the better option. On one hand your kitchen will smell so good you’re going to want to sleep in it, and on the other hand freshly baked madeleines have no contender. Eating them warm minutes after they’ve been baked is the best time to have these. Trust me!