The sablé is a very special cookie. I'm not sure what it is exactly, the sandy texture, the rich butteriness, or the perfect half-dollar size. Regardless this is a cookie that has a lot going for it. I first encountered them while visiting Dijon, France, where sables were elevated beyond topic to subject--with twenty or more different kinds.I forgot about them for awhile. My interest was re-invigorated when I decided to make Amanda Hesser's Lemon Sablé from her book, Cooking for Mr. Latte. (Her book, by the way, is purely delightful. A must read if you eat and are a woman.)
Since Hesser's Lemon Sablés, I've taken up trying all sorts. The latest experiment were cinnamon. The recipe, supposedly David Bouley's favorite, were slightly disappointing. Don't get me wrong, they're still great cookies. But the wow factor is missing a little bit. There are a couple differences between the Hesser and Bouley recipes, the most important, I believe is Bouley's uses half the egg of Hesser's and uses whole eggs instead of just the yolk as Hesser does. There are other differences but I believe it is the yolk that elevates Hesser's recipe to sublime.
Next try will be cinnamon instead of lemon in Hesser's sablé recipe. When it works, it works.
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