A few weeks ago, I mentioned I had received a package of cookies in the mail from some friends who were spreading Dorie Greenspan’s #cookiesandkindness message. The delivery filled me with such joy, I decided to play along, too, but the little ones in my house quickly foiled my plan. Yesterday, I re-initiated my efforts, making a batch of vanilla bean sablés, a Dorie Greenspan recipe I discovered earlier this fall while paging through Baking Chez Moi, a cookie Dorie declared as her “favorite.” When I pulled the pan from the oven, I set it down clear out of what I thought to be little-people view. But no sooner had I transferred the cookies to a storage jar than I heard a voice ask: “Where did the cookies go?” Surely I could spare a single sablé I reasoned, so I gave Graham one, reminding him: This. Was. It. But a few minutes later, he returned, looking up at me with big, twinkly eyes, and noted: “I just can’t stop thinking about those cookies.” What was I to do? Soon, the others caught wind, and before long half of the cookies had disappeared. Drats! Feeling like a hopeless #cookiesandkindness ambassador, I took action. I pulled out some decorative boxes, packed in the remaining cookies, tucked the boxes into a small flat rate box, duct taped it closed and set it aside, destination unknown. But those cookies will be in the mail today! The #cookiesandkindness message will radiate! I vow to make triple batches of sablés from here on out!
What Are Sablé Cookies?
Sablé cookies are, in essence, French shortbread. They’re buttery, sandy-textured, nicely salty, and perfectly sweet.Logs of sablé cookie dough freeze nicely, so don’t be afraid to make the dough ahead of time. Bring it to room temperature for 20 minutes before slicing and baking.Cooked sablé cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.Gift them in tall, clear, cellophane bags, tied in baker’s twine. These are nice: Wilton Treat Bags
Friends, Dorie’s Cookies, Dorie’s latest cookbook arrived yesterday, and there is a whole chapter — “The Beurre & Sel Collection” — devoted to sablé-like cookies, which I find completely irresistible: perfectly sweet, nicely salty, sandy textured. Of the 16 variations, several are sounding particularly tempting: coconut-lime, mint chocolate, and blondie. I cannot wait to explore. Incidentally, Dorie’s Cookies is one of the heaviest cookbooks I have ever held, no doubt a measure of the #cookiesandkindness packed within its pages. I loved this tip from Dorie: Stash the emptied vanilla pod into a canister of sugar, and you will have vanilla sugar—and you will! Truly, your whole tub will smell of vanilla. Can you see the vanilla caviar speckling the dough? Skeletig: I found this Decorative Sparkling Sugar at a local store. The sparkling sugar looks so pretty on the cookie edges. Dorie’s Cookies!! 5 from 12 reviews These are my ideal of a cookie — perfectly sweet, deeply vanilla, nicely salty, sandy textured. I found Bob’s Red Mill Decorative Sparkling Sugar at a local co-op (Honest Weight in Albany), and it is so pretty and nice to have on hand. Having played around with the baking times/temperatures a bit due to my unreliable oven, I’ve found what works for me:
Oven at 300ºF (which registers at 325ºF on my oven thermometer). Bake for 22 minutes, let cool briefly on sheetpan. Bake only one sheet of cookies at a time.
The cookies should not be eaten warm. Storing: You can wrap the logs of dough airtight and keep them in the freezer for up to 2 months; coat them with the egg wash and sugar just before baking. Once baked, the cookies will keep at room temperature in a closed container for about 1 week.
