D e l i s i o u c i t y

“I imagine pastries that I would love to
eat myself. For me, the most important
thing is to please the palate”
- Pierre Herme -

The crisp, crunchy and crumbly shortbread biscuits known as ‘sable‘ (sandy) is an excellent pairing with a cup of coffee. It is also just too easy to make, but like many things in pastry, you have to pay attention to the process and the amount of ingredients that make for precise chemistry. The recipe here is derived from The Cook’s Book, edited by Jill Norman; and specifically from the section on Pastry & Sweet Doughs by monsieur Herme. I adjusted a few things, just because.

Sables Diamant Vanille
(Makes 50) adapted from Pierre Herme, The Cook’s Book

230g unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into pieces
105g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I used Nielsen Massey’s Madagascar pure vanilla beans)
1/4 tsp salt (fleur de sel)
330g all purpose flour
Sugar crystals, demerara sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, colourful pearls (whatever you like)

Beat butter in a mixer until creamy. Add sugar, and continue to beat. Add extract, and salt. Then sift the flour and incorporate into the batter until you get a dough. Roll into a ball and refrigerate (preferably overnight, but one hour is good enough). Roll into a sausage with parchment paper, and once that is formed, spread some pearl sugar/ sugar crystals or whatever you desire and roll the dough on them so that the surface is coated fully. Wrap the sausages in parchment, and leave in the freezer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, warm up the oven to 180C. Continue rolling the remaining dough, but do not knead or overwork them! Take the frozen sausage dough out and cut into coins with a sharp knife. Bake for 20-22 minutes and prepare your coffee! Boo ya.

Oh did I tell you that I am in absolute admiration for all things Pierre Herme? I suppose it all began with the macaron. Then I started reading on him and began to adore his generosity – both in the fact that he gives  macarons away on the annual Macaron Day (in France), and that he is never stingy in sharing his recipes and techniques. J’adore!! Ultimately, and the bottom line is: I love his work. His beautiful beautiful desserts, especially the Ispahan macaron spinoffs (desserts made with rose, lychee/litchi, and raspberries) – are works of art. I wish I could just eat them all without gaining the subsequent poundage

Nonetheless, desserts and patisseries can certainly be enjoyed sans the guilt, provided it is done in moderation. I have to say that this is easier said than done though. If you could just imagine that whilst these sables were cooling off, prying hands could be seen to land on one biscuit after another! hehe.  I suppose the butterfly (or is that a moth?) made its way into our kitchen possibly because of the sheer fragrant of the baking sables. This really is a simple, yet warm and delicious treat. And man, does it just melt in your mouth! I need to hand you down some tips when making these though, as you need to keep the dough “short” by working very minimally with it. So, if making these in the absence of a food processor or a mixer, ensure that you dont knead the batter too much. And if possible, cut the butter into the flour with a cold knife, or rub with cold fingers. Yes, you need them cold :p

For such a simple and quick recipe, and yet divine to the palate, I thank PH for ‘le inspirations’ that he gives me and many others. Of course, this is much a classic (or rather, ‘stelama’) biscuit that all moms have in the their recipe books. In the middle of making these, I couldn’t help but recall the times when I was a little girl  – and amongst the many things we made for Eid celebrations. This was definitely one of them.  Food and fond memories? Priceless.

(if you are wondering what the clothes pincers are doing in the previous picture, I’ll put up in my next post their use with regards to the biscuits )