Sablé Breton
You don't want to miss this easy, classic, buttery cookie from the Bretagne region (Britanny) in North-West France. Best ever butter cookie!
Servings: 30
Calories: 41kcal
Ingredients
Sablé Breton
- ¾ cup European style salted butter, cold (170 grams)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (280 grams)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (130 grams)
- 2 egg yolks
Egg Glaze
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon milk
Instructions
- If for any reason you cannot find or use European style butter, add ⅓ teaspoon salt to the flour and continue.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Cut the butter into small pieces as shown in the pictures above. Put it back in the refrigerator while prepping the remaining ingredients. It is important for it to be cold.
- Place the flour in a food processor. Pulse several times.
- Add the cold butter pieces and process until the butter is indistingushable.
- Add the sugar and process briefly to mix.
- Add the 2 egg yolks and process until the dough comes together. It may not form a ball and that's fine. Pour out onto a work surface and push it together. Form it into a flat round. The dough should be fine to continue but if it is too soft, refrigerate briefly to firm up. Do not let it get too hard or it will be difficut to roll.
- Divide the dough in half (about 300 grams each piece). Place one piece between two pieces of wax paper and roll to about ¼". For the cleanest edges, refrigerate or freeze briefly. Cut out rounds of the desired size. The cookies shown are 2 ½ inches. Do not remove the dough around the cookies.
- Place the cookies, still between the paper on a baking sheet and refrigerate or freeze until hard.
- Remove the top piece of paper and pop the cookies out. Place on the prepared baking sheets. With the back tines of a fork, mark the cookies vertically. Placing the fork on a diagonal, mark the cookies again, making small diamonds. (See photos).
- Combine the 1 egg yolk and milk. Brush the cookies. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown and set. Cool.
- The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for a week or 10 days.
- Alternatively, prepare the cookies, through marking them and freeze them unbaked. To bake, glaze them with the egg glaze and bake, allowing a few additional minutes in the oven.
To Make in a Mixer
- Soften the butter and place in the mixing bowl with the sugar. Beat until combined.
- Mix in the eggs.
- Add the flour and beat on low to bring everything together.
- Proceed as above, chilling the dough slightly if it is too soft to roll.
Notes
Please see the step by step photos for visual instructions.
The butter should be refrigerator cold when adding it to the dry ingredients.
To cut out the cookies, chill the dough until firm. Do not freeze. Roll between wax paper. Cut the cookies into the desired size.
Without removing the cookies from the surrounding dough, freeze the whole thing keeping it on the bottom paper.
Simply pop the cookies out. Bring the scraps together when thawed, re-roll and continue to make more cookies.
The cross hatch design and brushing the cookies with the egg wash gives them the traditional Sablé Breton finish.
Any size cutter can be used. They are really easy to make with just 4 ingredients.
Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 10 days.
Alternatively, Cut the cookies out, mark them, freeze them, wrap well and freeze for up to 2 months. Egg glaze them and bake as called for, adding a few additional minutes if needed.
These cookies can be made well in advance. Simply cut out the cookies, freeze, wrap and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Sablé Breton are like no other butter cookie you'll ever eat. They are absolutely addictive. I can say that from personal experience.
They're perfect with coffee or tea, as a snack or just because they are so good.
They make an exquisite gift for someone special.
Variations:
Add a lemon or orange rind to the dough.
A chocolate version can be made by removing ¼ cup of flour and substituting ¼ cup Dutch cocoa.
Add ½ cup of any nut and process it along with the flour. Increase the egg yolks to 3.
While these are usually served as single cookies, they can be sandwiched with jam, nutella, or buttercream.
Nutrition
Serving: 30cookies | Calories: 41kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.003g | Protein: 0.05g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 36mg | Potassium: 1mg | Sugar: 0.003g | Vitamin A: 142IU | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.001mg