Chocolate Sablé Recipe

Prepare dry ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, Dutch-process cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar, and fine salt until evenly combined and free of lumps.

Cut in butter

Using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingertips, cut the cold unsalted butter into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. Work quickly so the butter stays cold.

Add yolk and flavor

Make a small well in the center of the flour-butter mixture. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Using a fork or a bench scraper, gently incorporate the yolk into the dry mix until the dough begins to come together. The dough should be crumbly but cohesive — if it remains too dry, add cold water 1 teaspoon at a time, up to the amount listed, just until it holds together when pressed.

Form and chill

Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap or lightly floured surface. Press it together into a disk about 1/2" (1.2 cm) thick. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days). Chilling relaxes the gluten and firms the butter so the sablés keep their shape.

Roll and cut

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from refrigerator and let rest 5–10 minutes to soften slightly for easier rolling. Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough to about 1/4" (6 mm) thickness. Use a round cookie cutter (about 2 1/2"/6 cm) or desired cutter to cut shapes. Re-roll scraps once or twice as needed, keeping the dough cold.

Chill cut cookies

Transfer cut cookies to the prepared baking sheets leaving about 1" (2.5 cm) between them. Chill the trays in the refrigerator or freezer for 10–15 minutes to firm the cookies — this helps prevent spreading and preserves crisp edges.

Bake

Bake the chilled sablés in the preheated oven for 12–14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the edges are set and cookies are firm but not burnt. They will still be slightly soft in the center but will firm as they cool. If using a convection oven, check at 10 minutes.

Cool

Remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the sablés cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. While warm they are fragile, so handle carefully.

If desired, lightly sprinkle a small amount of granulated sugar over the tops of the cookies immediately after removing them from the oven for a subtle sparkle and slight extra crunch.

For a chocolate-dipped finish, melt the melted chocolate or chocolate glaze to a pourable consistency. Dip half of each cooled sablé into the melted chocolate, allow excess to drip off, and place on parchment. Let the chocolate set at room temperature or speed up in the refrigerator for 10–15 minutes. Alternatively, drizzle melted chocolate over the cookies with a spoon or piping bag for a decorative pattern.