Prep 20 min - cook 15 min - serves 24
French Sesame Sable Biscuits
A sandy French shortbread rolled in sesame seeds, where overworking the dough is the only real mistake.
Before you cook
Sable means sandy, and that texture comes from handling the dough as little as possible. Every extra minute of mixing develops gluten and moves you towards a biscuit.
Chill the log properly before slicing. Soft dough drags under the knife and the rounds lose their edges.
Method
Rub the cold butter into the flour and salt until it looks like coarse sand.
Stir the sugar and the plain sesame seeds through the crumb mixture evenly.
Add the yolks and vanilla, bringing the dough together with as few strokes as possible.
Stop the moment it coheres, even if it still looks slightly ragged.
Roll into two logs about five centimetres across on a sheet of parchment.
Chill the logs for at least two hours, or overnight if you can.
Roll each cold log firmly in the roasted sesame seeds to coat the sides.
Slice into rounds a centimetre thick with a single confident cut each time.
Bake at 170C for fifteen minutes until the edges are just turning gold.
Cool completely on the tray, because they are fragile while still warm.
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