Almond sablés

Upon a dear friend’s request, I tried making classic sablés the other day. Up until the point when I put them in the oven, I felt pretty confident they were going to be a success, even if I had strayed from the original recipe a bit. And then it happened. Again. My oven happened. It ruined them.

Yes, I do blame my oven for all my kitchen fails. This week, I decided on another sablé recipe, a more exotic one so to speak: it’s from Poland. That’s really the only piece of information I can give you about these cookies, except that their original name can be “kourabie” or “kourabiedes”. But you definitely don’t need to know any of that to enjoy them. Especially if, like me, you’re an inconditional of almonds. They’re super quick to make: the longest you will have to suffer through is the baking time, if, like me, you have a microscopic oven that (you got it) burns everything. If you’re a normal person with a normal oven, you’ll be fine though.

Happy weekend! PS. January is officially over, so you’re allowed to binge on sugar and butter again. Here’s to February!

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Prep time: 15 minutes
Chill time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yields 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients: 

- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, cold and diced
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 pinch of salt
- 15 whole almonds (to decorate)
- 1/2 tbsp sliced almonds (to decorate)

Directions: 

1. Place all the ingredients but the whole and sliced almonds in the bowl of a food processor and process until a smooth dough forms. Shape into a ball and place in the freezer for 30 to 45 minutes (the dough will be firm but not frozen.)

2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Shape the dough into small cherry-size balls, place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Flatten them with the palm of your hand gently, until they form 2-inch discs. Add a whole almond on top of half the batch, pressing lightly so it sticks to the dough. Add two sliced of almond on top of the other half of the batch, pressing the same way into the cookie.

3. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, checking regularly, until the top is slightly golden. Let cool before serving or storing in an airtight container.

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My tips: 

- You can also refrigerate the dough for an hour; but I find the consistency of the dough easier to work with once you “freeze” it for 30 minutes.
- Do not press too much on the balls of dough: the cookies will get thinner and larger as they cook.

Source: adapted from Journal des Femmes.