Galettes sablées are a great way to use up leftover pastry dough. The ‘sablées’ in their name is French for “sand”, and refers to the sandy texture of these crumbly cookies, which are somewhat similar to shortbread in taste due to the high proportion of butter in the dough. You can enjoy these buttery “sugar cookies” warm from the oven, or let them cool and serve them as an elegant biscuit with a good cup of tea.
Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Volume One), by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck. Copyright 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Ingredients:
- leftover pâte brisée sucrée (sweet short crust) or pâte sablée (sugar crust)
- granulated sugar
- cinnamon (optional)
- 1 egg beaten in a small bowl with 1 teaspoon of water
Preparation:
Roll the dough out to a thickness of about ¼” in thickness, and cut into rounds using a 1¼” cookie cutter. Spread a ¼” thick layer of sugar on your pastry board, lay a round of dough on it, and heap sugar on top. Roll the round into a sugar coated oval about 2½” long, and place on an ungreased baking sheet. When all the cookies have been formed, sprinkle with cinnamon, if you wish. Paint tops of cookies with beaten egg. Bake in middle level of a 375 ° F oven for 10 – 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool.