Delicious French cookies from the James Beard award winner Jacquy Pfeiffer
About this recipe
These are delicious Alsatian cookies, called "Christmas Sablés", a recipe provided by Jacquy Pfeiffer who is originally from Alsace (Eastern side on France), and who is now a lead instructor at the renowned Chicago French School of Pastry.




This recipe reminds me of the fantastic years that I spent in Strasbourg, in French Alsace, (North East France), a place known for its culture and its cuisine
Au Brasseur
22 Rue des Veaux
67000 Strasbourg
France

Source of the recipe
Jacquy Pfeiffer is a native of Alsace in France, and is now working for the famous "French Pastry School" in Chicago

To purchase the book online:
Jacquy Pfeiffer published this book "The Art of French Pastry" in 2014, and won the "James Beard Award" for the best cook book

The recipe is on page 187

Modifications to the original recipe

Powders
1. Let's start by sifting the Flour (2 Cups or 300 g) and the Almond Flour (1 Cup or 100 g)
2. Add in the (powdered) Cinnamon (½ teaspoon or 1/2 g) and mix gently, and then set aside
3. In a mixing bowl, place : the Butter (1 Cup or 200 g), the Vanilla Extract (2 teaspoons or 10 g), the Sugar (⅔ Cup or 150 g), the Salt (½ teaspoon or 3 g)
4. Mix those ingredients, by hand or with a stand mixer (like a Kitchen Aid)
5. Then add the Egg (2 Tablespoons or 40 g) and mix for 2 minutes
6. Add in the sifted Flour, (powdered) Cinnamon and Almond Flour and mix
7. The result is a thick dough
KitchenAid 7-Quart Stand Mixer
Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer
Cooling down
8. Jacquy recommend to let the dough rest:
9. Flatten the dough
10. Wrap it
11. Let the dough rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours or even overnight
Cookie Cutters
You will need cookie cutters. Since these are Christmas cookie cutters, I chose adequate shapes such as Xmas trees, Snow flakes, stars and gingerbread man....
Abaisse
12. After the 2 hours rest in the refrigerator, we need to roll the dough (0.19" (or 13/64" or 0.5 cm))
13. Here's the trick to get an evenly spread dough : use "Measuring Dough Strips"... (link to purchase below)
14. ... and roll the dough with a rolling pin on those "Measuring Dough Strips"...
Migros
Centre Commercial Val Thoiry
Rue du Chemin de Pré Jacquet
01710 Thoiry
France/Switzerland
Wooden Rolling Pin
Rolling Pin with Removable Rings
Silicone Baking Mat
Measuring Dough Strips
That way, you will get the best results : A flat dough with no bumps. You are trying to achieve a thickness of 0.19" (or 13/64" or 0.5 cm)
15. Using the cookie cutters of your choice, cut out the "sablés" cookies
16. Place it in the freezer for 10 minutes
17. The dough becomes hard... which will make it easier to remove the extra dough between the shapes you just cut
Dorure
18. Jacquy Pfeiffer recommends brushing the Sablés cookies with some eggwash
19. Wait 10 minutes, and brush again with eggwash
Pastry Brush
Silicone Brush, Heat Resistant for Pastry and Barbecue
Cuisson
20. Place in the oven, preheated at 320 °F / 160 °C, until golden. In my case, I had to wait for for about 10/15 minutes
Perforated Baking Pan
Silicone Baking Mat
21. After they're baked, sablés must cool down on a rack
Round Cooling Rack
Nonstick Cooling Rack
My cookies were good to eat for a few days, when placed in a box... Enjoy !


Hi,
Is 40g egg part of cookies ingredients ?
Or is it used for eggwash ?
Thanks,Dee
Hi Dee, the eggs must be added in the mixture and the eggwash is separate (I added the eggwash to the ingredients list to make it simpler),
Thanks