"just because" cookies

when i was twenty years old, i sold women's shoes for a large department store, located right in the heart of the downtown business district. we regularly had working women on their lunch hour trying to find and buy that perfect pair of shoes before they'd dash back to the office. one lunch hour, i spied a woman with a pretty bouquet of flowers in her arms. as she was browsing the shoes on display, i approached her and remarked, "what lovely flowers!" you can imagine my surprise when she replied, "aren't they? i got them for you!" i was shocked, to say the least. she shared that i had recently helped her find a particular pair of shoes to match a special outfit and she was so appreciative. i've never forgotten that out-of-the-blue, random act of kindness and how it made me feel! and since that day, over the years, i've made it my personal mission to practice my own random, out-of-the-blue thank you's, the recipients often being strangers or acquaintances.

recently, i discovered the most amazing and easy french shortbread (sable) cookie recipe! quick fun fact: shortbread is traditionally made with sugar, flour and butter, where as french shortbread aka "sables," includes egg yolks and sea salt. the sable name not only comes from the french region of sable-sur-sarthe, but also because the sable cookie dough takes on a pebbly, wet-sand appearance.  

i endevored and made two flavored versions of the dough (an anise and a lavender & lemon zest) and after tasting the fruits of my labor, knew i needed to share the cookie love! i immediately set about creating "just because" gifts that very afternoon, starting with my youngest daughter's teacher as a mid-week afternoon school pick-up surprise. the gift tag read "just because it's wednesday" and i then did the same for my oldest daughter's teacher the next day (with a "just because it's thursday" tag, natch). my daughters speech therapist got a box that same thursday afternoon, to which i received a, "wow, these cookies are incredible!" thank you email from her later that evening. i can share with confidence that everyone whose received a "just because" cookie box has raved about the amazing cookies inside it. but i'd also like to think that the random act of surprise and appreciation has something to do with it, too!

"just because" sable cookies

1 cup softened unsalted butter (only butter, never margarine!)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup powdered (confectionery) sugar
1 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt (+ any of the following spice/zest combinations, below*)
2 egg yolks
2 cups all-purpose flour
optional sable glaze (recipe below)

also:

waxed paper
washi tape that sticks to waxed paper (not all do)
parchment paper

*lemon & lavender version: 1 tsp. dried lavender (available at world market) + 2 tbsp. fresh lemon zest

* orange & lavender version: 1 tsp. dried lavender + 2 tbsp. fresh orange zest

* anise version: 1 tsp. anise seeds

 

before you get started:

i encourage the following prep steps to make things go smoother and easier for you:

  • separate your egg yolks from your egg whites into a small bowl. i  highly recommend investing in a little gadget that separates the yolk from the white (see below). it's brilliant! save your egg whites to make that morning scramble a little lighter and healthier...
  • have your all-purpose flour and a 1 cup measuring cup close by.
  • in a small bowl mix together sugars, salt and any of the spice or lavender/zest versions above, then set aside.
  • have a good nylon or silicone scraping spatula at the ready!

to make your french shortbread dough:

  1. in a large mixer using a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter.
  2. add sugars & salt + anise or lavender & zest combination to the creamed butter until blended. (once blended, turn off your mixer so you don't over mix.)
  3. add your egg yolks and mix until incorporated. (again, once blended, turn off your mixer!)
  4. add 2 cups of flour to the mixing bowl and on low speed (so flour doesn't fly out of the bowl everywhere) blend until just mixed and your cookie dough is the consistency of wet sand. do not over mix! 
  5. scrap the bowl sides with your scraping spatula down into the center of the mixing bowl.

quick prep:

  • tear a piece of washi tape about 4-5 inches long and have it close by your waxed paper!

creating your dough roll:

  1. lay a piece of waxed paper about 13 inches long on your work surface. (if you prefer, you can roll out the dough on a floured board and cut out shapes with a cookie cutter. this does make a stunning finished presentation, but is much more labor intensive as you have to be skilled and keep the dough chilled enough during the process to achieve this result. the high butter content tends to soften very quickly making the dough suddenly unmanageable!)
  2. using your spatula, place the sable dough in a line along the center upon the waxed paper.
  3. pull up the sides of the waxed paper and start shaping the dough into a smooth log shape. i like to make sure i don't have wrinkles in my waxed paper where it's caught underneath. this looks complicated, but it's simple and rather therapeutic. i also like to press down lightly on the dough log and then flip it and work each side so i develop more of a squared/rectangular sided log. we'll be slicing the dough once firm before baking and i find this makes a more attractive finished product. i like to smooth up the ends with the waxed paper, too. 
  4. once you have your smooth log shape, tightly roll up the waxed paper around it, like you're wrapping a present.
  5. secure your wrapped waxed paper cookie dough roll shut with your prepped piece of washi tape!
  6. place your dough log in the freezer or in the refrigerator on a smooth surface to set. for the fridge, it will need a minimum of an hour to firm up before you can cut and bake your cookies. if you choose to freeze the dough, you can cut and bake frozen dough at a later time in the future with great results.

when you are ready to bake up a batch of cookies, line your baking tray with parchment paper (not waxed!) and get your oven heated to 350 F.  

  1. unwrap your dough log and slice into 1/4 inch thicknesses. make as many or as little as you want at this point! any unused dough can be re-wrapped and placed back into the fridge or freezer for future use. 
  2. place cut dough slices upon a parchment paper lined baking tray.
  3. bake for 15 minutes or until centers are just set but edges are not browned.
  4. remove cookies from oven, let sit on the baking tray for 1-2 minutes, then using a metal spatula, remove and transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
  5. if glazing cookies, prepare as directed below and apply while cookies are still warm.

note: if you have an aga like we do, you're always ready to bake on the fly. with a 2-oven aga, you may use your cooling rack to drop the temperature down in the roasting oven or you can give them your full attention for a total of 5-7 minutes on the bottom, lowest runners, so they don't brown on the edges. rotate the baking tray after 5 minutes and then don't get distracted!

for sable glaze*:

1 & 1/4 cups powdered (confectionery) sugar, sifted to remove lumps

3-4 tbsp. fresh juice from your choice of citrus

1 tbsp. fresh zest from same citrus

1 tbsp. dried lavender

  1. in a small bowl, whisk the sugar, zest, lavender and citrus zest together until it looks like spreadable frosting.
  2. using a small teaspoon and while the cookies are still warm, add and spread glaze to the top of each cookie while it is on the cooling rack.

*the anise sables are perfectly delicious plain! or, you may also choose to make a glaze for them by substituting milk or water for the citrus juice, omitting the zest, and adding 1 tsp. anise instead of dried lavender to the confectionery sugar.

below, you'll see i accented each of my lavender & orange zest glazed sable cookies with a pinch of purple glitter sugar (available at craft stores that sell baking supplies or online) to make them extra fancy!

now, feel free to sample a cookie if you haven't already, you've earned it! if you have the willpower to not eat them all up yourself, let the glaze set and harden before transferring to a plate or wrapping up as a "just because" gift.

just because cookies are also a great gift idea for a birthday or hostess gift! give a  refrigerated sable cookie dough log with baking instructions affixed with either washi tape or bakers twine for the recipient to bake up their own cookies at a later time. just remember to remind them to place it in the fridge or freezer until they are ready to use.

when packing up your cookies as gifts, you don't have to get fancy and buy special boxes, unless of course, you want to.  pictured above and below,  i used silver cardboard gift boxes leftover from a creative adventure 18 years ago! a plain brown paper lunch bag (wrap the cookies up in waxed paper first to keep them from soiling the paper bag) tied up with a sweet ribbon or bakers twine or, buying mix-pattern plates at your local thrift store or neighborhood garage sale are both charming and inexpensive packaging presentations, too. (wrap a plate of cookies with plastic or waxed paper and tie up with a sweet ribbon, lace or bakers twine to secure.) inside my cookie boxes, i tucked a couple of tea bags for that little extra "something-something"...

finally, don't forget a gift tag! let your recipient know what your baked goods are and embellish your tag with glitter, stamps or perhaps as I have, fancy washi tape.  below, you will also see i presented two cookie flavors in one box and listed them respectively on the gift tag. (inside the gift box, the two varieties are layered upon each other within the waxed paper wrapping.)

are you an overachiever and want extra-bonus points? list the ingredients on the the back of the tag, just in case they or someone they might share them with has a food allergy!

i hope you enjoy your cookies, dearies, and that you hopefully choose to do your own random "just because" sable missions yourself.  i encourage you to think outside the box and surprise those whom often don't get much (if any) appreciation for their work, such as:

your child's and/or your bus driver
the school secretary
your regular mail carrier
the garbage collector
the ups/fed-ex driver
the janitor/office cleaning crew
the receptionist and/or security guard at the office you visit frequently
the clerk who went above and beyond for you at the retail store

sharing the sable cookie love, you'll not only brighten someone's day in a wonderful and unexpected way, but you'll brighten your own day, too - bon appetite!

xoxo

darling