Tuesday, December 8, 2009

TWD - Sables


This week’s TWD recipe is sables and was chosen by Barbara of Bungalow Barbara. These is my first Christmas themed baking for this year as well, although I did make my Christmas cake back in the end of October.

Sables are the French version of shortbread, the difference being that they are much more delicate and thin and contain egg yolks which enrich the dough. I cant remember whether I have made a true sable biscuit/cookie before, but I have tasted them in France. The recipe is very easy – if it was in my Nana’s recipe book it would say “make in the usual way” – ie cream butter and sugar, add egg yolks and then stir in flour. The dough is very soft, but time in the fridge makes the dough much more workable. You could roll this dough out and cut into shapes, but as it is very buttery, you might find that you lose the shape in the baking. I did what Dorie suggested – rolled the dough into logs, then rolled in Christmas coloured sugar, sliced and baked.

I only made a few of these cookies, freezing the rest of the dough for Christmas gifts. I loved the cookies – they are crisp and buttery and with the coloured sugar coating, look particularly festive. Dorie gives a number of variations and I want to try them all. Maybe everyone will be getting sables for Christmas from me this year!

See what the other TWDers thought here.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Probably a silly question,but is making coloured sugar as easy as adding food colouring and stirring ?

Tammy said...

not a silly question, I actually bought that coloured sugar, but I have coloured it myself before by doing it exactly what yuo said. the sugar can end up a bit wetter and clumpier, but probably if you put it in the hot water cupboard after colouring it, it would dry out a bit

Amanda said...

They look wonderful Tammy! I made these today and had such a hard time getting the timing right. Half of my cookies are too dark :-( but the other half is tasty LOL

Cakelaw said...

These look great Tammy - love the festive red and green sugars.

Jules Someone said...

Yours look so good! Mine were tasty, but not so pretty.

Engineer Baker said...

I love Christmas colors - what beautifully festive cookies!

Heather B said...

Love your holiday cookies! Great job on the sables this week!

Unknown said...

Your Sables look wonderfully festive! We loved these too-delicious and easy!

Leslie said...

What lovely, festive cookies! I'm saving most of mine, too.

Jacque said...

So pretty! Love the colors :)

Bungalow Barbara said...

Thanks for baking along with me this week! Your cookies look so colorful, just right for the season.

Morven said...

What delightful looking cookies. I have some butter to use up and these may just be the perfect recipe to try.

chocolatechic said...

Do these taste like the ones you ate in France?


I just loved them.

Di said...

Those look great, Tammy!

Teanna said...

Way to save the dough for Christmas! Great idea! and they look beautiful!

steph- whisk/spoon said...

they will make perfect gifts! everyone will love them!

Anonymous said...

They look so festive with the red and green sugar. I should do that the next time I make these!

Paula said...

Interesting that you mentioned how they lose their shape. Guess it's all the butter. But they were tasty and yours look the same.