Meyer Lemon French Butter Cookies aka Sables

I found this recipe on a blog I had not previously seen, but I was searching for recipes using Meyer Lemons, as my new friend and fellow golfer Mary Lou Scott gave me a huge bunch from her tree.

Yes, that is our kitty, Lily, who is with me constantly when I am in the kitchen, which is a lot of the time!

“Just One Cookbook” is a Japanese Food and Recipe blog so it was fun to find a recipe for these fabulous French, buttery, crumbly, melt in your mouth cookies on her site. Namiko Hirasawa Chen’s  Japanese recipes also look awesome. I’m going to experiment! Check her out:

https://justonecookbook.com

Sable (pronounced Sab-lee in French or Sab-lay in English) are very similar in texture to a shortbread cookie, but better and super easy to make. The word Sable literally translated means “sandy” and that describes the texture beautifully. The cookies originated in a little village in western France; Sable-sur-Saithe.

Isn’t Sable beautiful?! I think I want to go there!!

I could not believe how easy this recipe came together. No rolling, which is always a bonus and just a few ingredients. Nami recommends weighing your ingredients. I had a beautiful kitchen scale in Ireland, but do not have one here, which is kind of crazy. But if you use the ‘scoop and level method’ you can get very accurate measurements. Fluff your flour and gently pour into the measuring cup; level off with a knife.

My Dad made that heart-shaped cutting board for me when I was still in high school. It’s made from a majestic Black Walnut tree we had growing in our front yard in NH for many years. The tree eventually died and Dad made many beautiful things from that special wood.

Start by cutting 4 oz. (1 stick) of unsalted butter into pieces. The butter needs to soften at room temperature. Once softened, place the butter in a medium sized bowl and beat until it is smooth and creamy. You can use either a stand mixer or a hand mixer. I used a hand mixer.

When the butter is nice and creamy, add 3 1/2 Tbsp. confectioners sugar. That’s not a lot of sugar for a cookie recipe, but was the perfect amount. Blend the sugar and butter until soft and light. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure the sugar is completely incorporated. I also added 2 drops of DoTERRA Lemon Oil as I wanted to really enhance the lemon flavor. Nami does not suggest this in her recipe.

My good friend, Diana Makes introduced me to doTERRA oils years ago. They are food grade oils so great for cooking/baking, but intensely flavored so use carefully. Their different oils also have excellent healing properties and are very aromatic in a diffuser. I have tried other food grade oils, but like doTERRA the best.

Sift 1 cup cake flour and 1.4 oz. almond flour (that is 1/3 cup plus 2 tsp.) into the bowl. Add the zest from 3 Meyer Lemons (in my case I used only 2 lemons as Mary Lou’s Meyers were huge!). As always with zesting, use only the yellow peel, not the pith or white bitter part.

Add 1 Tbsp. whole milk (Nami calls for 2 tsp.). There are 3 tsp. in 1 Tbsp. I’m not sure why I decided on less milk, but it worked perfectly. Mix all together with a rubber spatula.

At the beginning the dough will be quite crumbly, but it eventually comes together in a ball. At this point the dough will be too soft to roll into a log shape. With the rubber spatula push the dough together into a ball to form one clump of dough. Refrigerate the dough for about 1 hour to help it harden up.

Once chilled, form the dough into a cylinder, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Use your fingers to smooth out the dough and push both ends, again using your hands to ensure as best as possible that ends are even on both sides. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.

Take out of the fridge and ‘wash’ the cookie dough in an egg bath. Using your hands rub the beaten egg on all sides of the cylinder. (Click on each photo to enlarge.)

Next, sprinkle white sparkling sugar onto the log. I didn’t have white, but did have Turbinado Cane Sugar, which gave the cookies a nice, deep golden brown and crispy edge. Once egged and sugared, re-wrap in the plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator while the oven is coming to temperature.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Once up to temp, take the cookie log from the fridge, remove the plastic wrap and with a sharp knife slice the dough into 1/3 inch rounds.

Here they are all baked. As you can see this recipe makes 16 cookies.

Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave about 1 inch of space between the cookies. Lower the oven temp to 350 degrees and bake the cookies for about 25 minutes or until the edges of the cookies start to get golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Carefully transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

These simple French cookies were quite spectacular. When I took my first bite, I felt like I was sitting at a cafe on a street in Paris, sipping an espresso with these Sables melting in my mouth. They truly are little gems.

TRES MAGNIFIQUE!

Meyer Lemon French Butter Cookies aka Sables

Everything you want in a cookie: beautiful crumbly texture, not too sweet, and exquisite lemon flavor.

Ingredients

  • 1 stick Unsalted butter; that's 4 oz., at room temperature
  • 3 1/2 Tbsp. Confectioners sugar
  • 1 cup Cake flour
  • 1.4 oz. Almond four, Super fine and blanched; that's 1/3 cup plus 2 tsp.
  • 2-3 Meyer Lemons zested; depending on the size of lemons Usually Meyer Lemons are smaller than regular lemons, but the ones I used were huge. Use your judgement.
  • 1 Tbsp. Whole milk
  • 2 drops Food grade lemon oil-optional
  • 1 Egg beaten; you will not use the whole beaten egg
  • Turbinado sugar; enough to completely coat the cookie dough log

Instructions

  • Gather all of your ingredients. Zest the Meyer Lemons. Measure the two flours. Cut the butter into pieces to speed the warming.
  • In either a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or medium sized bowl beat the softened butter until it is very smooth and creamy.
  • Add 3 1/2 Tbsp. confectioners sugar; 2 drops of lemon oil (optional) and blend until soft and light.
  • Sift the cake flour and almond flour into the bowl. Add the lemon zest and tablespoon of milk. Mix all together starting with the hand mixer and complete the mixing with a rubber spatula.
  • The dough will be shaggy at the beginning, but it does come together eventually.
  • Using the rubber spatula, form the dough in the bowl into a ball, wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
  • Take the dough from the fridge; unwrap and shape the dough, using your hands into a cylinder about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
  • Wrap the cylinder in plastic wrap and chill until firm; at least 2 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Take the cookie log from the fridge and remove the plastic wrap. 'Wash' the cylinder with a beaten egg and roll the dough in enough coarse sugar to completely coat.
  • Once egged and sugared, re-wrap in the plastic wrap and place in the fridge until oven comes to temp.
  • Remove from the plastic wrap. Using a sharp knife slice the dough into 1/3 inch rounds. This should make 16 cookies. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment leaving about 1 inch between the cookies.
  • Lower the oven temp to 350 degrees and bake the cookies for about 25 minutes or until the edges start to get golden brown.
  • Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

Nami says if you pack the cookies in an airtight container they will keep for at least 4 days. My cookies did not last 4 hours so no need for packing!

 

 


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2 Comments

  1. Diana Makes February 3, 2025 at 1:19 pm - Reply

    So happy you’re still using your doTerra essential oils!

    Save me some of these cookies!!!

    • Cindy Rabbitt February 3, 2025 at 8:44 pm - Reply

      Yes I am in so many different ways. Thank you so much for turning me on to them. I’ll do you one better. Next time we get together (hopefully soon!) I will bring you a batch!!

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