Matcha Sablés

Sablés are traditional French (round) shortbread biscuit with a delicate, crumbly interior and golden hue. Its sand-like texture was what probably gave rise to its name "sablés" which means "sand" in French. I should have shared this post long time ago when making Green Witch's Fingers for Halloween 3 years ago, but there's always some other recipes that distracts me from doing so. Being one of our favorite snacks, I make them in different flavors from time to time. And one of the family's favorite are these Asian infused, matcha sablés.

Matcha Sablés (makes approximately 50 cookies)
(Recipe from Okashi by Keiko Ishida)

   240g     Pastry Flour, chilled
     15g     Green Tea Powder

   150g     Butter, unsalted, room temperature
   130g     Icing Sugar
   Pinch of Salt

      2        Egg Yolks
      1        Egg White, lightly beaten

Optional
Granulated Sugar
Green Tea leaves
Black Sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 150ºC
1. Sift together the pastry flour and green tea powder twice and reserve.

2. Using a paddle attachment, cream the butter, icing sugar and salt till soft and creamy. Add egg yolks and mix well.

3. Add the green tea flour mixture and fold in with a spatula. Cover dough with cling wrap and chill in refrigerator for about 15 mins.

4. Divide the dough into portions. Roll them into 3.5cm diameter logs with a piece of parchment paper and refrigerate until firm. (I prefer to cling wrap them before refrigerating.)

5. When firm, cut logs into 7mm thick rounds and dip the edges in granulated sugar.

6. Brush a little egg white over the top and scatter a few green tea leaves/black sesame seeds.

7. Bake for 20-25mins or until the sablés has browned slightly. Cool completely on wired rack.

Thoughts: Although the recipe calls for the dough to be rolled in sugar before baking, I have always skipped that step so the sablés don't turn out too sweet and everyone in the family can enjoy. If you have a sweeter tooth, do roll them in sugar. Otherwise, the sweetness is just right to balance out the slight bitterness that comes from the matcha powder.

The type of matcha powder used will affect the taste of your sablés as well. If available, a high quality, unsweetened matcha powder will be the best choice. They are stronger in terms of flavor and will not add to the sweetness of the sablés.

Every bite is filled with buttery goodness and perfumed with the fragrant matcha. It is impossible to stop at just one piece. Although they can last up to a week in an airtight container, I seriously doubt they can "survive" that long! At least they never did in our family.

All blog posts and photos are properties of WhatToBakeToday (unless otherwise stated). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of these contents, whole or part thereof, without express or written permission from this blog's author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to WhatToBakeToday with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.