The sablé, invented in the Marquise de Sablé’s kitchens in the Loire Valley, was presented to the court of Louis XIV in 1670. It’s similar to shortbread, with a rich crumbly texture, and uses a specific technique to cream the butter. This recipe, by French pastry luminary Pierre Hermé via Dorie Greenspan, departs from the traditional in several ways. The dough is made in a stand mixer (sablé recipes traditionally rub the butter in by hand) uses a hard-boiled egg yolk, potato starch, olive oil and olives. I used pitted Kalamata olives and a fruity olive oil (you want a robust oil with flavour, not a delicate French oil). It reads fiddly, but comes together quickly and easily. Chilling the dough allows the olive flavour to develop.
| 1 | large hard-boiled egg, white discarded |
| 2¼ c | all-purpose flour |
| 6 T | potato starch |
| 15 T | unsalted butter at room temperature |
| ⅓ c | olive oil |
| 1 c | icing sugar, sifted |
| 5 oz (¾ c) | pitted black olives, chopped |
| ½ t | fleur de sel (Maldon) to sprinkle on the cookies pre-baking |
Grate the hard-boiled yolk onto a piece of wax-paper and reserve.
Put the flour and potato starch in a strainer set over a large bowl and sift into the bowl. Whisk to thoroughly blend. Cream the butter on medium until creamy. Beat in the olive oil, the grated yolk and the icing sugar (in that order) and reduce speed to low.
Spoon in the dry ingredients and mix on low until the dough just comes together or mix in by hand. Add the chopped olives and mix until distributed evenly. The dough will be very soft.
Turn the dough out onto a work surface, divide it into thirds, and shape each piece into a log about 1½ inches in diameter. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for at least several hours, preferably overnight.
(Or freeze to make cookies later.)
When you’re ready to bake, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and working 1 log at a time, slice the cookies 1/4 inch thick and arrange them on the baking sheet.
Bake, one sheet at a time, using a a cool cookie sheet every time. Bake the sables for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet at the midway mark, or until the cookies are firm but still pale. They may turn golden around the edges, but you don’t want them to brown.
Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool, and repeat with the remaining logs of dough, making sure to use a cook baking sheet each time. Makes about 60 small cookies.