Sablés Diamants

A traditional buttery shortbread cookie, these are the one of the first recipes I learned in pastry school. They are called Diamant (diamond) because the cookie, when rolled in coarse sugar, appears to have been rolled in diamonds.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened at room temperature

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 2 egg yolks

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 cups flour

• Pinch of salt

• Coarse decorating sugar (white or desired color)

• 1 egg white for brushing on the dough parchment or plastic wrap and chill at least 20-30 minutes.

When the dough is well chilled, preheat your convection oven to 325°. Unwrap the dough, working one log at a time.

Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface or use a large plate or sheet pan. Make a line of sugar the length of the dough, about ¼ to ½ inch deep and 2 to 3 inches wide. Brush the log with a thin layer of egg white, then roll in the sugar, pressing to adhere the sugar to the logs. Repeat with second log. If the dough feels soft, place in refrigerator for 5 minutes.

Slice dough into ½- to ¾-inch slices and place about 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Reshape as necessary so the cookies are round.

Bake in preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes until cookies are just beginning to brown on the bottoms. Tops of the cookies should be quite pale. Remove from oven and cool. Store in an air tight container up to 1 week, or freeze.

Madeleines

• 200 g Flour

• 2 tsp Baking Powder

• 4 large eggs

• 200g Sugar

• 200g Unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Sift together flour and baking powder.

Whisk eggs, sugar, honey and vanilla in large bowl (stand mixer is OK on medium speed) approximately 2 minutes until thick and smooth.

If using: Add Lavender flowers and mix delicately. Slowly incorporate sifted flour into egg/sugar mixture and whisk just until smooth. Do not over mix.

Slowly whisk in cooled, melted butter. Add lemon zest if using.

Cover and chill batter 30 minutes to 3 hours. Cold batter going into a hot oven creates a thermal shock that develops the signature “bump.”

While batter is chilling,

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 20 g Honey

• Optional: 2 TBS Lavender flowers or grated lemon zest butter Madeleine molds using softened (not melted) butter (Pan spray is OK). Pop in freezer to chill pans. Preheat convection oven to 400°.

Fill prepared molds 2/3 full with batter using a pastry bag. Place in oven and bake 3 minutes. Reduce convection oven temperature to 325° and continue baking for 8 minutes until puffed and golden brown.

As soon as they are removed from the oven and cool enough to handle, flip over and unmold onto wire racks to cool.

Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar if desired. Store Madeleines in an air-tight container.