Lemon Sables
By America's Test KitchenPublished on October 14, 2008
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour chilling
Yield
Makes about 40 cookies
Ingredients
1 large egg 10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (2 ¾ ounces/78 grams)¼ teaspoon table salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 teaspoons grated lemon zest 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces/213 grams)Confectioners' sugar
Before You Begin
Make sure the cookie dough is well chilled and firm so that it can be uniformly sliced. After the dough has been wrapped in parchment, it can be double-wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 2 weeks.
Instructions
- Place egg in small saucepan, cover with 1 inch water, and bring to boil over high heat. Remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill small bowl with ice water. Using slotted spoon, transfer egg to ice water and let stand 5 minutes. Crack egg and peel shell. Separate yolk from white; discard white. Press yolk through fine-mesh strainer into small bowl.
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, salt, and cooked egg yolk on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl and beater with rubber spatula as needed. Turn mixer to low, add vanilla and lemon zest, and mix until incorporated. Stop mixer; add flour and mix on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Using rubber spatula, press dough into cohesive mass.
- Divide dough in half; roll each piece into log about 6 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in 12-inch square of parchment paper and twist ends to seal and firmly compact dough into tight cylinder (see illustrations below). Chill until firm, about 1 hour.
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using chef’s knife, slice dough into ¼-inch-thick rounds, rotating dough so that it won’t become misshapen from weight of knife. Place cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheets.
- Bake until centers of cookies are pale golden brown with edges slightly darker than centers, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes; using thin metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature. Once cookies have cooled, dust with confectioners' sugar. Store cooled cookies between sheets of parchment paper in airtight container for up to 1 week.
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour chillingYield
Makes about 40 cookiesIngredients
1 large egg
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (2 ¾ ounces/78 grams)
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces/213 grams)
Confectioners' sugar
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
1 large egg
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (2 ¾ ounces/78 grams)
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces/213 grams)
Confectioners' sugar
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
1 large egg
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (2 ¾ ounces/78 grams)
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces/213 grams)
Confectioners' sugar
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
It took some detective work to develop a French butter cookie recipe with a properly sandy texture. Cutting back on the butter in our sable recipe helped, but the breakthrough was using a traditional French ingredient—hard-cooked egg yolk—which eliminated excess moisture and perfected the texture of the cookies.
Before You Begin
Make sure the cookie dough is well chilled and firm so that it can be uniformly sliced. After the dough has been wrapped in parchment, it can be double-wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 2 weeks.
Instructions
- Place egg in small saucepan, cover with 1 inch water, and bring to boil over high heat. Remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill small bowl with ice water. Using slotted spoon, transfer egg to ice water and let stand 5 minutes. Crack egg and peel shell. Separate yolk from white; discard white. Press yolk through fine-mesh strainer into small bowl.
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, salt, and cooked egg yolk on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl and beater with rubber spatula as needed. Turn mixer to low, add vanilla and lemon zest, and mix until incorporated. Stop mixer; add flour and mix on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Using rubber spatula, press dough into cohesive mass.
- Divide dough in half; roll each piece into log about 6 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in 12-inch square of parchment paper and twist ends to seal and firmly compact dough into tight cylinder (see illustrations below). Chill until firm, about 1 hour.
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using chef’s knife, slice dough into ¼-inch-thick rounds, rotating dough so that it won’t become misshapen from weight of knife. Place cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheets.
- Bake until centers of cookies are pale golden brown with edges slightly darker than centers, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes; using thin metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature. Once cookies have cooled, dust with confectioners' sugar. Store cooled cookies between sheets of parchment paper in airtight container for up to 1 week.
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