Viennese sablés

Operation "Christmas Cookies" is winding down at my house.  We've been busy making and eating our fair share of cookies this month.  I now have a small stash of Italian tri-color cookies, chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies, as well as these sablés I want to chat about today, stowed away in the freezer ready to be enjoyed on Christmas day.  I'm really looking forward to taking it easy and relaxing with my family over the holiday break...

On the one hand, I'm glad that the "must-do" baking's done and I can put away my cookie cutters for a little while.  On the flip side, I don't want to let go of December! It is such a magical month of gift-giving, treat-baking, and general merry-making (when else can you say "merry-making"!).  I so enjoy the indulgences and luxuries of this month, and seeing the confetti of powdered sugar, sprinkles, peppermint, and holiday spices popping up everywhere is such a treat!  Inspiration has been everywhere.

So I'm glad we still have time to talk Christmas cookies one more time before we go hunker down with our families, and eat said cookies.  I decided to try Dorie Greenspan's recipe for Viennese sablés from her latest book (aka, early Christmas present for moi).  Sablés are your French shortbread or butter cookies - "sablé" for "sand", signaling their signature sandy, crumbly texture.  They are crisp at first bite but have a melt-in-your-mouth tender texture within that make them special. You taste buttery sweetness with a hint of salt and vanilla in the background. There's no better time to make and savor classic cookies like these than during the holidays.

Earlier this year, I made chocolate chip shortbread cookies (another Dorie recipe, incidentally) and was blown away by the lovely, flaky yet meltingly-tender, texture created by using confectioners' sugar in the dough.  I daydream about those cookies sometimes. Well, these are very similar, and they taste like the Danish butter cookies that many of us know and love.  Those cookies have a special place in my heart and this homemade version brings back memories of eating them as a child.  The homemade rendition is a tad less sweet, which isn't a bad thing.  And in my case, they're not nearly as nicely shaped as the ones that came out of the blue tin but the holidays are a forgiving time.

So I grabbed my pastry bag and star-tip, and took at stab at piping these cookies.  I tried some "W"s, the classic shape representing "Wittamer", the pastry shop in Brussels where these cookies originated, as well as a few other simple shapes. Knowing my own limited skills, I mainly made little sablé fingers.  And I stuck with the recipe, resisting the urge to add vanilla seeds or citrus zest.  But since it is Christmas, I felt the need for a little embellishmentso I dipped some of my cookies in white chocolate as well as a few in dark chocolate.

Honestly, these cookies are probably best enjoyed just as they are, no embellishments necessary when it comes to taste.  We can attest that they go very well with a cup of hot cocoa.


It took far longer to set these cookies up for pictures than it did to make the simple cookie dough.  So if you stocked up on some good butter for the holidays and still have some sitting around in your refrigerator, this is a good way to put it to use.  I had my heart set of using Danish Lurpak butter for this recipe; I had seen it at Whole Foods last holiday season and assumed it'd be there again this year. I was wrong and there has been no Lurpak in sight.  Instead, I used Plugra butter for this recipe.

The dough is fairly firm so be prepared to give your piping bag a steady, firm press for even distribution.  My skills are sorely lacking so my cookies are not the prettiest (far from pretty) but if your family is like mine, they're not inspecting them too closely for critique.  After piping the cookies into whatever shapes you want, bake them until they are just lightly golden around the edges and the back while the center is fairly pale. Here's an example of how the back of my cookies look. 

The best part is definitely picking up one of these cookies and eating it.  They crumble under your teeth, giving you that expected crunch.  Then, you begin to taste that familiar buttery sweetness swirled together with vanilla and a touch of salt.  And surprisingly, it breaks apart and seems to kind of melt away in your mouth.  That's pretty sensational for a cookie made with just 6 simple ingredients.

I hope you've been enjoying the holiday season, savoring treats and soaking up plenty of festivities!  Enjoy the rest of December and have a very joyful holiday!


Recipe:

Viennese Sablés 
From Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan

- Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies - 

9 tablespoons (4 1/2 ounces; 128 grams) unsalted butter, very soft
1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 large egg white, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (153 grams) all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, positioning racks to divide oven into thirds.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats.

Place butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Sift confectioners' sugar over top and add the salt.  On low speed, beat until just smooth (not fluffy).  You're aiming for a smooth dough but not looking to beat air into it.  Beat in the egg white.  The dough will turn slick and separate but will smooth out once the flour is added.  Beat in the vanilla and scrape down the bowl.  Gradually add the flour, beating only until it disappears into the soft dough.  Do not over-mix.  

Fit a pastry bag with an open-star tip that's a scant 1/2 inch in diameter (I used Ateco #864).  Scrape the dough into the piping bag.  (You can also pipe plain cookies by filling the dough into a zip-lock bag and snipping off a corner of the bag).  

Pipe the dough onto the prepared baking sheets.  You can make traditional "W" shapes that are about 2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches high or pipe any size/shapes you prefer.  Be sure to leave about 2 inches of space between the cookies to allow room for them to puff and spread during baking.  

Bake cookies for about 17 to 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheets midway.  The cookies should be golden brown in the edges and on their bottoms and paler in the center. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets a few minutes before transferring onto cooling racks to cool to room temperature.

You can store the cookies in an airtight container, at room temperature, for at least 1 week.  They can also be frozen for up to 2 months.