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.
Table of contents
TRADITIONAL FRENCH SABLE COOKIES
French butter cookies, known as sables, 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The word sablé in French means sandy, possibly referring to the texture of the cookie, or maybe to the way it was originally made by mixing the butter and flour together before adding the eggs, which gave it a sandy texture.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.
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.
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.
BAKER’S PERCENTAGE FOR THE BEST SABLÉ COOKIES
Bakers use a method of comparing recipes known as the baker’s percentage. This method makes it is easy to see how one recipe differs from another. The flour is represented as 100 percent and the other ingredient are a ration of the flour. This recipe has the following baker’s percentage:
| butter | 50% |
| sugar | 50% |
| eggs | 25% |
| flour | 100% |
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.
THE SCIENCE OF MAKING GREAT COOKIES EVERY TIME
To make great cookies, it is important to understand a little of the science of making them. They are small, so there is less room for error, which is why measuring accurately is so necessary. And they have very few ingredients, so each ingredient has a key roll, and using the best of each ingredient will make a big difference.
CHOOSE THE BEST INGREDIENTS
Using the brands we have listed will ensure that you make great cookies every time. These brands not only taste better, but production of each is tightly controlled so the product is consistent. The size of the sugar crystal, the amount of protein in the flour, the shape of the salt – all these things will affect the way the cookies bake. Cookies are so small that little differences in the ingredients can lead to a big difference in the cookies. Some of these brands cost more than other available products, but it’s worth it. For some, we include a link to their official websites so you can buy direct and in bulk and often reduce the price.
NUT OIL
LA TOURANGELLE – Nut oil is a great substitute for butter. The flavor of nuts works well in cookies, and the oil gives the cookies a fudgy center and crisp edges. La Tourangelle offers a number of different oils, already roasted for added flavor – pecan, pistachio, walnut, hazelnut, almond. Nut oils contain no water, and butter does, so a substitution would be about 3 parts oil for 4 parts butter. We buy some in bulk to save money, but are careful to buy only what we will use in a few months and keep it refrigerated.
FLOUR
GOLD MEDAL UNBLEACHED ALL PURPOSE FLOUR – has a lower protein amount than some all purpose flours – 10.5 percent protein. This is a good flour for baking cookies, since it makes them more tender. In addition, the company ensures that the protein content is carefully calibrated, so you get consistent results. Also, it is important to use the unbleached flour, since bleaching can give cookies an off taste or have unpredictable results.
KING ARTHUR UNBLEACHED ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR – has a slightly higher protein amount than Gold Medal – 11.7 percent protein. It is good for baking cookies, especially those that are a little more hearty and need some substance. King Arthur is an employee-owned company that 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, which means the flour gives you the same results, every time you bake.
SUGAR
WHOLESOME ORGANIC SUGAR – produced from 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 and climate change, and is a major cause of the destruction of the rainforest. Buying sugar from fields that are green cut helps prevent this destruction. The sugar also has a better taste because of how it is produced. It is more expensive than buying the standard brands, but the difference is only a few cents per recipe, so it’s worth it. We also save money by buying this in bulk direct from the company and storing it in jars in the pantry.
HOMEMADE BROWN SUGAR
If a recipe calls for brown sugar, we use white, granulated Wholesome Organic sugar and add a small amount of sorghum syrup instead. Brown sugar is just white, granulated sugar with molasses added. Sorghum syrup tastes very similar to molasses. We actually prefer the milder taste of the sorghum syrup. This saves money, since brown sugar is usually more expensive than white sugar, and it saves storage. We don’t make brown sugar by mixing the sorghum syrup and sugar because they don’t mix well, and the syrup is easy to add to a recipe. Also important, sorghum does not come from sugar cane. It is grown more sustainably in colder climates without burning and without cutting down tropical rain forests.
HOMEMADE SUPERFINE SUGAR
Superfine sugar, also known as caster sugar or baker’s sugar, is just white, granulated sugar that has been ground fine so that it dissolves quickly. It is often much more expensive than granulated sugar, so instead of buying super fine sugar, we make it ourselves and save money. We put the Wholesome organic sugar in the food processor and grind it fine, which takes about a minute, and store it in jars in the pantry.
POWDERED SUGAR
Powdered sugar, or confectioner’s sugar is just white, granulated sugar ground to a fine powder with some cornstarch added to keep it from clumping. We tried to make it ourselves, but could not grind it fine enough or evenly, so we buy Wholesome Organic Powdered Sugar in bulk and store it in jars. Buying in bulk saves money and it stores well in a jar with a lid.
VANILLA
HEILALA VANILLA – the best tasting vanilla we have ever tried. Plus, it is ethically produced. We double the amount of vanilla usually called for to add extra flavor. Vanilla extract is usually half alcohol and half water, so the extra vanilla will add some liquid.
CHOCOLATE
VALRHONA CHOCOLATE – Using a high quality chocolate makes a really big difference. We use Valrhona because of the quality and because it’s an ethical choice.
SALT
DIAMOND CRYSTAL KOSHER SALT – pure salt without additives or iodine taste. The weight and structure of salt varies between brands so it is important to choose a salt and stick with it to be consistent.
USING THE BEST EQUIPMENT
- Oven Thermometer
- Instant read thermometer
- timer
- Accurate measuring spoons
- Medium to heavy-weight, light-colored aluminum cookie sheets – dark or thin sheets may burn the bottom of the cookies
- stand mixer
- food processor
- silicone baking mat – much less expensive than parchment paper in the long run
- silicone heat resistant spatula for scraping the bowl. All one piece is easier to clean and doesn’t come apart
- thin metal spatula for moving the hot cookies – the thin metal won’t break the cookies
- cooling rack with a gridded frame – the grid prevents the cookies from falli
- digital kitchen scale
- medium wire whisk
- microplane zester and grater
- cookie scoops with squeeze release handles
- fine mesh strainer for sifting
METHODS FOR MAKING COOKIES
UNDERSTAND THE METHOD – our cookie recipes are made with one of three methods:
- BATTER – used for drop, rolled, cut out or formed cookies. Create a batter by stirring the wet ingredients together (nut oil, sugar, eggs, flavorings), then adding the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda). This is easiest method for making cookies and works best in a bowl, stirring by hand.
- IRON – creating a thin batter that is stirred together and then fried or baked in an iron. This requires special equipment such as a waffle iron, rosette iron, pizzelle maker, or krumkake iron.
- MERINGUE – creating a meringue with egg whites and sugar, sometimes with a flour made of ground nuts. The cookies made this way are often gluten free. This is easiest and works best in a stand mixer, but a food processor is the easiest way to make the nut flour. It can also be done with a hand mixer or whisking by hand, but it would take much longer. There are three types of meringues – French, Italian, and Swiss.
- French meringue is the easiest and most common type of meringue and is often used in baked goods, since the egg whites are not cooked. It is made with egg whites and sugar that are whipped together until they form stiff peaks. The mixture is can be baked at a low temperature until it dries out and becomes crispy, or it can be mixed with other ingredients to make various types of cookies.
- Italian meringue is a more complex type of meringue that requires a bit more skill to make. It is made by whipping egg whites and adding a hot sugar syrup then whipping them together until they form a glossy, stable mixture. The hot sugar syrup cooks the egg whites, making the meringue safe to eat. Italian meringue is commonly used in recipes such as buttercream frosting and French macarons. It is denser than French meringue and has a slight sweetness to it.
- Swiss meringue is made by whisking egg whites and sugar together over a double boiler until the sugar dissolves. It is then whipped until stiff peaks form, resulting in a glossy, shiny meringue. Swiss meringue is often used in recipes such as mousses and buttercream frosting. It has a silky texture and a buttery flavor that is perfect for a variety of desserts. Swiss meringue is also more stable than French meringue, making it a great option for decorating cakes and pastries.
TIPS FOR MAKING COOKIES
USE A SCALE AND MEASURE IN GRAMS – Use a scale to measure most of the ingredients by weight. This is absolutely essential. The inaccuracies from using measuring cups can easily lead to failure when baking. Different brands of flour and sugar will be different when measured with measuring cups, and not all measuring cups are accurate. Measuring by weight is the same every time. It is also much easier – just put the mixing bowl on the scale, zero the scale, add an ingredient, zero the scale again, add the next ingredient, and so on. Measuring in grams is more accurate, and easier, than pounds and ounces. Since it is a smaller measurement, it is more precise. Also, grams are often easy numbers to remember, making it possible to make the cookies without looking at the written recipe and easy to compare recipes. Clean up is easier, since there will be fewer bowls and no measuring cups to wash. And cooking with children is easier because they quickly learn how to add ingredients until the scale reads the correct amount.
USE A SCALE TO MEASURE OUT EACH COOKIE – Use the scale to make sure the cookies are exactly the same size. Using a scoop for some cookies makes forming the cookies fast and easy and will also help maintain the same shape, but the scale will make them the same size.
REFRIGERATE THE DOUGH AT LEAST THREE HOURS OR OVERNIGHT – This allows the flour to absorb the liquid in the dough, making the cookies bake better. You can refrigerate the dough in the bowl covered with plastic wrap, measured out for drop cookies, as a flat square for rolled cookies, or as a log for sliced cookies.
VACUUM PACK AND FREEZE EXTRA DOUGH – After refrigerating the dough overnight, extra cookie dough can be frozen. Vacuum sealing keeps the dough fresher.
USE AN OVEN THERMOMETER – Use an accurate oven thermometer to check the oven temperature before putting the cookies in. The temperature of ovens vary, and may not be the temperature on the dial.
ALLOW THE COOKIES TO COOL ON A RACK – Allow the cookies to cool for a minute on the pan, then transfer them to a rack to keep them from getting too dark on the bottom. The cookies will become more crisp as they cool on the rack, though we realize allowing them to cool before eating them is almost impossible.
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.
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 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 SUSTAINABLE:
Check out the chart on the blog post to see how food choices affect climate change. This recipe uses responsible brands and items that are lower on the chart and the production creates less greenhouse gas.
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Photos by Tony Fitzgerald Photography