Recipe: French Sables Bretons & Food As Love
Photo by Vlada Karpovich
Sablés Bretons are a delicious, buttery French shortbread treat perfect for serving with coffee or tea. They are quick and easy to make, and they store well in an airtight container. I learned to make them, and many other French recipes, to give my French husband a little taste of home. He left his country and family to marry me, so preparing these little dishes is an opportunity to show my appreciation. Food is such an excellent way of expressing our love for people!
The Ingredients:
11 tbsp softened butter
¾ cup + 2 tbsp confectioners sugar
2 eggs (1 for the egg wash)
1 ¾ cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp fleur de sel (replace with kosher salt if necessary)
The Steps:
Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in one egg. Add in the flour, baking powder, and fleur de sel. Mix until completely combined. Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness. I like to do this directly on parchment paper.
Put the dough and the parchment paper on a baking tray and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees near the end of the chill time. Cut cookies from the dough using a circular cutter and place them on two parchment lined baking sheets. You can re-roll the scraps and cut out more cookies. Beat the other egg in a cup with a little water.
To make traditional cookies, take the back of a fork and create a cross pattern. Brush the cookies with the egg wash.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating the trays at the midway point, until golden on top. Cool on the tray for five minutes, then remove to a wire rack to complete cooling. Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container.
Bon appétit!
