Poilâne’s Corn Sablés

Recipe from Apollonia Poilâne

Adapted by Dorie Greenspan

Poilâne’s Corn Sablés
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Colin King.
Total Time
30 minutes, plus chilling and cooling
Rating
4(433)
Comments
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In her book, “Poilâne, The Secrets of the World-Famous Bread Bakery,” Apollonia Poilâne, who heads the legendary Parisian boulangerie, describes the sweets in her shop as pâtisseries boulangères, bread-bakers’ pastries, which are typically less sweet, less fussy and less fussed over. These corn shortbread-style cookies, known as sablés in French, fit into that category perfectly. They’re made with all-purpose flour and corn flour – corn ground so fine that you can barely feel a bit of grit when you rub a little between your fingers. (Do not use cornmeal or cornstarch.) Baked, the cookies have the characteristic sandiness of sablés and the beautiful golden color of corn. To get the best texture, make sure your butter is soft and creamy. The dough is a pleasure to work with and, because it holds its shape when baked, a good choice for fanciful cutouts. At Poilâne, the cookies are always cut into simple rounds, so that, as Apollonia says, “they look like minisuns.” —Dorie Greenspan

Featured in: A Cookie Inspired by American Cornbread, Perfected in a French Bakery

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Ingredients

Yield:About 60 cookies
  • ½cup plus 2 tablespoons/125 grams granulated sugar
  • 1large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 1cup plus 2 tablespoons/250 grams unsalted butter (2¼ sticks), cut into cubes, softened until creamy
  • 2cups/240 grams corn flour
  • 1¾cups plus 2 tablespoons/240 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (60 servings)

89 calories; 4 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 2 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large bowl, working with a mixer on medium speed, beat the sugar, egg and egg yolk until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the butter, and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the corn flour and all-purpose flour to a medium bowl, and whisk until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.

  2. Step 2

    Lightly flour a work surface, and turn the dough out onto it. Divide the dough in half, and shape into 2 discs. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (The dough can be frozen for up to 3 months; thaw for at least 3 hours at room temperature before rolling.)

  3. Step 3

    Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

  4. Step 4

    Lightly flour a work surface and a rolling pin. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll the dough out ¼-inch thick, reflouring the surface and pin as needed. Cut out 2-inch rounds, and place ½ inch apart on the baking sheets. Gather the scraps, reroll and cut out more cookies. Refrigerate the cookies on the baking sheets for 30 minutes before baking. (Alternatively, you can stack the cut-out rounds between sheets of parchment or wax paper, cover and refrigerate; place on baking sheets when you’re ready to bake the cookies.)

  5. Step 5

    Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and heat to 350 degrees. Bake the cookies until the centers are set and the edges are very lightly browned, 17 to 19 minutes. Rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time. Immediately transfer the cookies to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
433 user ratings
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Comments

Alexa Weibel, Senior Staff Editor, NYT Cooking

Hi there! A very good question, and one that Dorie and I debated at length. Masa harina and corn flour are not the same ingredient -- masa harina has been nixtamalized (typically soaked in lime water), while corn flour has not. Dorie used Bob's Red Mill brand corn flour, which is essentially very finely ground cornmeal.

Daniel Recoder

Instead of buying yet one more thing, couldn't you just use regular corn meal that has been put in the food processor for a finer grind?

Sarah

My mother's go-to cookie is a shortbread cookie. For less fuss she rolls the cookie dough into a log and then slices off the desired number of cookies and refrigerates or freezes the rest. It's easier than rolling them out with a rolling pin, using a cookie cutter, and then having scraps that need to be re-rolled and thus toughened. Could work well for this recipe I think.

Maxine

Subtle flavor. As addictive as shortbread. These are sublime. If you do not have access to corn flour, do not make them. Corn meal, no matter how finely ground, will not yield the same result.

Cindy

I added 1 teaspoon of salt and a packet of vanilla sugar. My one baking tray was placed in the center of the oven at 180 C. They were burnt at 10 minutes! Tried again and they started browning at the edges at 7 minutes. Could the baking time stated in the recipe be a mistake? Instead of 17-19 minutes, it’s 7-9 minutes for me.

Bubbie Nini

I made these using fine-ground cornmeal plus the pulp of one vanilla bean and about 1/2 t Diamond Crystal salt. Shaped into a log for slice-and-bake ease. Delicious!

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Credits

Adapted from “Poilâne: The Secrets of the World-Famous Bread Bakery,” by Apollonia Poilâne (Rux Martin Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019)

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