French Butter Cookies (Sablé
Classic French butter cookies with a delicate, crumbly, sandy texture and a hint of saltiness. Perfect on their own or paired with ice cream or a chilled drink.
Ingredients
Cake flour (not self-rising)
2 1/3 cups
Baking powder
1 tablespoon
Fine sea salt
1 teaspoon
Unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup (2 sticks)
Granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons
Vanilla extract
1 teaspoon
Large egg yolks
4
Large egg (beaten with 1 teaspoon water for egg wash)
1
Instructions
1
Mix the dry ingredients
Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk gently to combine well. Set aside.
2
Make the dough
Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy in texture and color, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla. Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and beat until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and pat into a disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours until firm (can be refrigerated for up to 2 days).
3
Prepare for cutting
Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
4
Cut the cookies
On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Using a 1 3/4-inch round cutter, cut out as many cookies as possible, spacing them 3/4 inch apart on the baking sheets. Wrap the scraps in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before rerolling and cutting out more cookies.
