For the best French Sablé Cookie recipe, also called Sablés pour le Thé, or French Tea Sablés, start with the very best ingredients. This is a basic recipe for French butter cookies that opens up a world of possibilities.
The French butter cookie, called sablés pour le thé (sablés for the tea), is a very simple, basic recipe. To make them, you’ll need to mix together all the ingredients into a dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Then, use a cookie cutter to shape the cookies and bake them in the oven until golden-brown. With their rich flavor and classic shape, sables are a delightful treat that might have been enjoyed centuries ago throughout France. These delicious and versatile cookies are perfect for any occasion.
This recipe is built around ingredients that support growers and local agriculture whenever possible. From sustainably grown flour to responsibly produced butter, each element contributes to a system that values both the land and the people who cultivate it.
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Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
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Traditional French Sablé Cookies
French butter cookies, known as a sablé, are a timeless traditional pastry that have been enjoyed in France for centuries. The crispy, buttery cookies are made mostly of flour, butter, sugar, and salt. They can be flavored with vanilla, almond essence, or lemon zest to give them a unique flavor. The cookies can be left plain and sprinkled with a light dusting of sugar or they can be topped with an egg wash or fruit jam and/or glaze before baking.
The word sablé in French means sandy, possibly referring to the texture of the cookie, or maybe to the way it was originally made by mixing the butter and flour together before adding the eggs, which gave it a sandy texture. For a classic version, the butter and flour are mixed together until they form a dough, which is then rolled out and cut into circles. The sandy texture is due to the small amount of liquid in the dough – the water in the butter and in the egg.
Basic Recipe for French Butter Cookies
This recipe is much easier than the traditional method, because it is written so a mixer can be used. Since this recipe is written for making the cookies in a mixer, the butter and sugar are mixed together first, instead of the traditional method of mixing the butter and flour first. The dough is made using a method called creaming, where the sugar and butter are beaten together to incorporate air. This gives the dough structure before the eggs and flour are added. This recipe is a very simple cookie that does not include baking soda or baking powder, but just relies on the butter and sugar in the dough for the structure.
This is one of our basic recipes for French butter cookies, because the main ingredients are proportionate by weight – 100 grams butter, 100 grams sugar, 50 grams eggs and 200 grams flour. This makes the recipe very easy to commit to memory, and other recipes can be remembered by whatever change is made to this basic recipe.
The recipe is very basic, with four main ingredients. Vary any of these and you get an entirely different cookie. Adding more flour makes a cookie that holds it’s shape. Using egg whites instead of whole eggs makes a crisper cookie. By adding flavors or spices, the variations become almost endless. This recipe is a sablé au citron, or sablé with lemon. This is also the dough for pâte sucrée, that is used for making tarts.
It is important not to over work the cookie dough once the flour is added. If the dough is overworked, gluten will form and the cookie will be tough. Refrigerating the dough also helps prevent the formation of gluten.
Sablé cookies are rolled and then cookie cutters are used to cut them into shapes. We roll out the dough on parchment paper so it can be easily put back into the refrigerator if it gets too warm.
They are traditionally cut into scalloped round cookies and have an egg wash over the top before baking, sometimes with fork marks on top. However, they can also be cut into other shapes and topped with sugar. We made some with an egg wash and some with sparkling sugar.
The Secrets to Making Great Sablé Cookies
These basic tips for making cookies give us great cookies every time we bake. Everything you need to do is included in the recipe, but this will tell you why it works. The sablé cookies are made using the batter method where the sugar and butter are first creamed together before the eggs and other ingredients are added. The batter is rolled and then cookies are cut out.
Working with growers, millers, and producers for decades taught me how flavors develop from farm to kitchen. These cookies highlight those small, meaningful ingredient choices.
Ingredients
Using the best ingredients creates the best cookies. I name the brands I use in the recipe, so there is no guessing. There is a detailed explanation for why I use each brand on the “quality brands” page.
- All-Purpose Flour – King Arthur Organic All-Purpose flour King Arthur responsibly sources the wheat for their flours, and it pays off in the taste and quality. They have a “never bleached” guarantee, which means their flours don’t have an off taste or unpredictable results that can be caused by bleaching. They also carefully calibrate the protein content, so the flour gives you the same results everytime.
- Sugar – Wholesome regenerative organic sugar produced from organic sugar cane fields that are green cut and are not burned or treated with herbicides or synthetic fertilizers. Burning sugar cane fields contributes to air pollution, climate change, and is also a major cause of the destruction of the rain forest.
- Milk, Cream, Butter – Horizon Organics – Milk, Cream and Butter that are produced organically, sustainably, and responsibly. You can taste the difference.
- Salt – Diamond Kosher tastes cleaner and measures differently.
No Affiliates Statement
We call this our “no affiliates” statement because we accept no advertising, have no affiliates and accept no payment. We are not paid to mention brands – we just love buying the best, sharing that information and saving the planet at the same time. The effort put into writing and photographing the blog is solely based on our dedication to the cause.
Sustainability
The ingredients in this recipe were chosen not only for how they taste, but for how they are grown and produced. My background in agriculture—working with farmers, organic regulations, and sustainable farming practices—shaped the way I think about food long before I began writing recipes.
Over time, I’ve come to see that the best cooking starts long before the kitchen, in the decisions made in the field. The section on ingredients highlights those choices, offering a closer look at the ingredients and the role they play in supporting a more thoughtful and sustainable food system.
RECIPE
Equipment
CHOOSING BRANDS:
For certain products, the choice of brand will make a big difference in the outcome of the recipe and in your carbon footprint. So, for those products, we have listed the brand. We are not paid to mention a brand and have no affiliates.
Ingredients
- 100 grams Horizon unsalted butter
- 100 grams Wholesome regenerative organic sugar
- 50 grams egg
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- zest of one lemon
- 200 grams Gold Medal unbleached all purpose flour
- sparkling sugar optional
Instructions
Follow all the instructions exactly, including the brands and equipment, to ensure the best results.
NOTE: Make the batter the day before you bake the cookies. Refigerate it overnight.
MAKE SUPER FINE SUGAR
- Using a food processor, grind the sugar to make it into superfine sugar. This will take about a minute.
AN HOUR BEFORE – GATHER THE INGREDIENTS
- Gather all the ingredients on the counter and allow them to come to room temperature. This should take about an hour.
MEASURE THE INGREDIENTS
- Use a scale to measure the ingredients – zeroing the scale between measurements. (Tip: Put each ingredient away or set apart as it is used to keep track of what has already been used.)Into the mixing bowl of the stand mixer, measure the butter, sugar, salt and lemon zest. Into a small bowl, measure the egg. Into another a small bowl, measure the flour.
MIX THE INGREDIENTS
- Using a stand mixer with a paddle, cream the butter mixture by beating it on medium for about 5 minutes (use a timer to make sure it is beaten long enough). The temperature of the butter should be about 60°F – do not let the temperature exceed 68℉ (use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature.). The mixture should be soft, but not greasy.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the egg and continue mixing until it is incorporated (about a minute).
- Switch to the dough hook. Using a sieve, sift the flour over the dough. With the mixer on low, slowly incorporate the flour. Mix just until the flour is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides on the bowl with the silicon spatula. Do not overwork the dough.
- Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap. Empty the dough onto the plastic wrap and shape it into a flat square about an inch thick, dust with flour, wrap in the plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
BAKING DAY
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Place a silicon mat on the counter. Roll out the dough on the silicon mat until it is about 1/8 inch thick. As the dough warms up and is difficult to handle, transfer the dough back to the refrigerator on the silicon mat using a cookie sheet. Cut shapes using cookie cutters. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar or use an egg wash made of a beaten egg and a Tablespoon of water. Place a silicon mat on a cookie sheet. Place the cookies on the silicon mat with about an inch between them. Put the cookie sheet of cookies into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Place an oven thermometer in the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F. Bake the cookies until they look done but are not browning. Do not over bake. This should take about 8 minutes. Use a timer to make sure they are not over baked.
- Allow the cookies to cool for one minute on the baking sheet, then transfer them to a cross hatch cooling rack using a thin metal spatula. Allow to cool on the rack for at least ten minutes. Cool completely before storing.
Nutrition
WHY THIS RECIPE IS A GAME CHANGER:
This recipe is a total game-changer — crafted with the finest [brand name] ingredients, simplified using a master recipe with pro-tested techniques from top chefs and bakers, and designed for deliciously sustainable cooking made easy.”
True to The Master Pantry philosophy, this recipe combines the best seasonal ingredients and quality brands with homemade methods to maximize both flavor and sustainability. It was inspired by our travels and works well as a holiday recipe.
Photos by Tony Fitzgerald Photography
Recipes created by Lisa LeCoump — Food Photographer, Agricultural Expert, and Home Baker. Sharing master recipes, chef secrets, and sustainable baking for every kitchen. Featured on various publications.