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With Christmas around the corner, it was time to start my batch of French Christmas Sablés. It is a childhood tradition that I absolutely did not want to miss. I wish that my teens will feel this same enjoyment, and have these same wonderful memories as I did during the holiday season.
In my family, we used to make big batches of these cookies and Spritz to eat around Christmas time and share it among ourselves and friends.
This year, I chose to make a recipe from Jacquy Pfeiffer. He is a French Pastry Chef from Alsace (Eastern France) and a co-founder of the renowned French Pastry School in Chicago.
These Christmas Sablés are absolutely delicious! They are buttery, crunchy, and have a perfect little touch of cinnamon. They are so addictive with a cup of tea or coffee that I need to make a new batch because they are already almost gone :).
Storage: the sablés keep for 1 month in a tin or an airtight container.
If you don’t have a robot: do not worry, you can perfectly make this recipe by hand. I’ve always seen my parents do it this way without any problem.
French Christmas Sablés – Sablés de Noël
Ingredients
- 300 g All-purpose flour
- 100 g almond flour blanched
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 200 g butter (I recommend Plugra) diced
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 150 g granulated sugar
- ⅜ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 large egg (40 g)
Egg wash
- 1 whole egg
- 1 teaspoon water or milk
- 1 pinch sea salt (optional
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the flour and the almond flour. Add the cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your mixer, add the butter, vanilla, sugar, and sea salt. Mix with the paddle for 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape the bottom of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure that all ingredients are mixed together. Add the egg and mix for another 2 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients (flour, almond flour, and cinnamon) and mix until they just come together. Stop, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and the paddle, then beat again just until the dough is well combined. Do not overmix or you will activate the gluten and the dough will be rubbery.
- Scrape the dough out of the mixer and divide into 2 equal pieces. Wrap onto a sheet of plastic wrap and gently press each piece until it is about ½ to ¾ inch thick. Wrap airtight and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight (this allows to the flour to absorb water in the dough, making it easier to roll out).
- When you are ready to use the dough, put the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 F. Line the sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Take one of the pieces from the fridge and cut in half. Leave one portion at the room temperature and place the other half into the fridge (it is easier to roll one small piece at a time).
- Lightly dust your work surface and roll out to 3/16 of an inch (roughly 0.5 mm). Cut into shapes with the cookie cutters of your choice and place them on the sheet pans.
- Lightly brush each cookie with egg wash. Avoid letting it drip down the sides of the cookies. Let sit for 10 minutes and apply a second thin layer of egg wash.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, reversing the pan front to back halfway through until they are golden brown throughout. Transfer them to a rack and allow to cool completely before storing them in an airtight metal container.
Jude Garratt
I was at an Alsace dinner a few weeks ago and as I was leaving I received a small bundle of cookies. These were among them. They were delicious. I didn’t know what they were called for where I could find the recipe
Merci beaucoup.
Francoise
Jude, thank you! If you try my recipe let me know if they remind you those you received?
Daniela Ratcheva
Happy New Year, Francoise! Mira and I made these before the holidays and everyone at home loved them and because we made two batches Mira took some with her when she returned to school. So tasty and so easy to make, and the best part is that they last so long. Hope everyone is well. All the best in the New Year!
Daniela
Francoise
Thank you very much, Daniela and Happy New Year! I am so glad that you and your family enjoyed them! Thomas and his brother helped me well too 🙂 Francoise