Chocolate Sablés

Chocolate sables are a lovely French shortbread cookie that has a "sandy" crumbly texture. 

These are wonderful, pop-able chocolate cookies. These cookies are rustic in appearance and sophisticated in flavor. With two kinds of chocolate, both cocoa flour and grated bittersweet chocolate, these cookies will satisfy your cravings. 

Sablé actually means "sandy" in French and it describes the cookie's crumbly texture, only in a much more continental way. They are the French version of a shortbread cookie. 

These cookies are great for sharing at a potluck or barbecue, and as a dessert after a large meal. Plus, they are just small enough to assuage any guilt about having one for dessert.... or a handful!

Between the deep chocolate taste and crumbly texture (with a hint of creaminess from the finely chopped bittersweet chocolate), these cookies are impossible to resist. 

Ingredients in These Chocolate Sablés:

All Purpose Flour: If you have a scale, be sure to weigh the flour, as the dough is pretty dry and not easy to bring together, and you don't want to use just the right amount to achieve the right "sandy" texture. 

Baking Soda. 

Sea Salt: For it's sweeter, more pure taste. If you don't have sea salt, kosher salt is a good substitute. 

Unsalted butter: softened. 

Granulated Sugar. 

Pure Vanilla Extract: You could also use vanilla bean paste. 

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Either natural or Dutch process. I used natural cocoa powder. 

Bittersweet Chocolate: The chocolate should be grated or finely chopped. This is the most tedious step in making these cookies but it's worth it. Either way, the chocolate should be in tiny pieces. I grated most of the chocolate and finished by chopping the last bits. You could also try cutting the chocolate into small pieces and then pulsing the pieces in a food processor. 

Optional Sparkling Sugar: You can sprinkle the tops of these cookies with sparkling sugar before baking. 

To Make These Cookies:

First, whisk together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda. 

Next, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the flour and cocoa mixture along with the grated chocolate and mix with your mixer until the dough somewhat comes together. The dough will be very crumbly. Turn the dough out onto your work surface and push it together with your hands to form a six inch by six inch square. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes. 

After that, cut the dough into one-inch squares and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. You can sprinkle them with sugar if you like. 

Finally, bake the cookies for about 10 minutes. 

Recipe Variations:

These cookies are cut into "rustic" squares. You could also form the dough into a log and slice and bake them for a round shape. Because the dough is pretty crumbly, you might have some trouble keeping the dough together. One way to keep the dough together is to place the rounds in the cavities of mini muffin tins. 

The dough will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator before baking. If the dough is cold, let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes if you'd like the dough to be a little softer so the cookies are flatter when they emerge from the oven. I cut and baked the cookies straight from the refrigerator and the dough crumbled a bit and the cookies kept their original shape. 

Storage:

These cookies will stay fresh in and airtight container for up to a week, if they last that long. You can also freeze them, well wrapped, for up to three months. 

Welcome to #BBQWeek where we celebrate all things barbecue related! From slow cooked pulled pork to grilled chicken, salsa and sides, and delicious desserts, there’s a recipe that’s perfect for your summer cookout parties.

Wednesday’s #BBQWeek Recipes

• Baby Potatoes with Tomato Saute from The Spiffy Cookie
• Chicken Caesar Lettuce Boats from Easy Recipes for One
• Chocolate Sables from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Gnocchi And Sausage Recipe from Our Crafty Mom
• Jalapeno Popper Potato Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Lemon Snack Cake from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Pork Kabobs from Art of Natural Living
• S'mores Icebox Cake from Jolene's Recipe Journal

Chocolate Sablés

Yield: 36 cookies

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Chocolate sables are a lovely French shortbread cookie that has a "sandy" crumbly texture. 

Ingredients

• 5 ounces (1 cup) all purpose flour
• 1 ounce (1/3 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) room temperature unsalted butter
• 4 1/2 ounces (2/3 C sugar) granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 ounces 70 percent cacao chocolate, grated
• Optional sparkling sugar (or granulated if you don't have sparkling) for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda together in a bowl.
2. Beat the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla together in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for about four minutes.
3. Add the dry ingredients and the chocolate and mix until just combined.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 1/2 inch thick 6x6 inch square. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to a week. (You can also freeze it for three months)
5. When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
6. Cut the dough into one inch squares. Place them 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly sprinkle the cookies with sparkling or granulated sugar.
7. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

57

Fat (grams)

3 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

2 g

Carbs (grams)

7 g

Fiber (grams)

0 g

Net carbs

7 g

Sugar (grams)

4 g

Protein (grams)

1 g

Cholesterol (grams)

7 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2012/10/chocolate-sables.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

cookies, sables, chocolate

dessert

French

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Adapted with permission from Miette: Recipes from San Francisco's Most Charming Pastry Shop, by Meg Ray. The book is beautiful. The link is to the 2023 edition. My copy is the 2011 edition.