Popular French butter cookies, Sablés come in all forms and flavors– and these Buckwheat Sablés with Chocolate are some of my favorite ones. Nutty buckwheat flavor, the rich taste of butter and speckles of dark chocolate come together in a perfectly crisp shortbread cookie texture. These easy to make cookies are a must to try, and adopt.
Buckwheat, a staple ingredient in Brittany.
I have always had a fondness for alternative flours, especially buckwheat flour. Buckwheat, known in French as “blé noir” or “sarrasin”, is a central ingredient in Brittany cooking. It features in many of our local specialties, like savory buckwheat crepes or the earthy kig ha farz meat stew. I enjoyed this flour all throughout my childhood in France, and I have always loved it for its distinct earthy and nutty flavours.
Buckwheat flour is gluten-free which makes it a good choice for anybody with gluten sensitivities or celiac disease. It is packed with nutrients and versatile. It is also widely available and a great choice for anyone just starting to play around in the kitchen with alternative flours.
However, note that these buckwheat sablés aren’t gluten-free since they use a combination of both buckwheat and all-purpose flour.
Notes on Buckwheat flour in the US/Canada vs. France
Since starting this blog, I have had a lot of people ask me about buckwheat flour. The question that I get the most is what brand/type of buckwheat flour to buy in the US/Canada to recreate the same taste and look as in France? Most people point out that buckwheat flour is much darker in US/Canada, resulting in darker results in baked goods and crepes.
What I have found from my experience of juggling back and forth between North American and French flours is that the French buckwheat flour is usually sold in a refined form, whereas buckwheat flour in North America is usually left whole grain.
- Un-refined North American buckwheat flour found in North America is grainier and darker in color. It will for instance create sablés or savory crêpes that are much darker in color and with a more assertive taste. Examples of North American whole-grain buckwheat flours are Bob’s Red Mill Organic Buckwheat Flour and the one you can find in bulk at a store like Bulk Barn.
- Refined French buckwheat flour is usually powderier in texture and lighter in color. An example of French buckwheat flour is Treblec’s, which is sold everywhere in France, and online. This is probably one of the most famous brands, and the one that I grew up enjoying for making baked goods.
I personally have no objection using either kind of these buckwheat flours – whole grain or refined. I just know what to expect. For instance, I often baked these Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies while in Canada, and they ended up darker and earthier in taste since I was using whole grain buckwheat flour.
The sablés pictured here look lighter in color as they were made using French Treblec’s flour (since I recently moved back to France).
How to store these buckwheat sablés:
- Once completely cooled, you can store the sablés in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. I think they tend to get better and better every day as their flavors blend and develop.
- These sablés also freeze very well. Place them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes:
- A good quality butter will go along way for this sablé cookie, since the buttery taste is so prevalent. Ideally opt for a European butter with a higher fat content.
- The key to getting a delicate sablé texture is to not over-beat your dough. At first, the mixture will seem very dry but as you keep gently beating, it will bring out the moisture and the dough will come together in a rough and thick ball. As soon as it comes together, stop mixing.
- After being shaped into a log, the dough needs to rest for at least 2 hours in the fridge to firm and become sliceable. Ideally, leave it in the fridge overnight, which also helps developing the flavors.
- I prefer to use roughly chopped dark chocolate. But chocolate chips work perfectly too.
You may also like:
- Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt
- Brownies with Pecans and Fleur de Sel
- Chouquettes (French Sugar Puffs)
- Roasted Hazelnut Financiers
- Homemade Hazelnut Chocolate Spread
- Chocolate Chip Cookies with Fleur de Sel
- Hazelnut Chocolate Sea Salt Granola
16 comments
I have some buckwheat flour leftover from a different kitchen project. I think I will have to give these a try!
Buckwheat flour is great and versatile. Let me know if you try this recipe!
Mine weren’t as photogenic as yours but I certainly enjoyed them– so did my kids 😀. My husband is not a fan of buckwheat flour in general (he calls it “sand flour”), but I noticed that he was able to eat quite a few sables 😉.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the sables Rachel (and your kids and husband). And yes, there’s not the prettiest, but they do taste delicious!
Out of curiosity, do you add the chocolate chips right after the flour and before shaping logs or is it earlier in the process?
Thanks,
Christine
Hi Christine, you add the chocolate chips at the same time as the flours (I have corrected the recipe, thanks for spotting this!), and then shape the logs. Let me know how they turn out 🙂
Thanks for the quick reply! My sablés are baked and now cooling. I can’t wait to try them. Thanks!
Great! Bon Appetit!
Hi Audrey,
Thanks very much for this recipe. I tried it and the sables are just amazing. However all my sables came out of the oven flat and seem a bit greasy. What could be the thing i did wrong? I’ve baked different cookies many times including some of your recipes and they all come out right. The only thing i could think of is the buckwheat i’m using is not absorbent enough?
Thanks.
Hi there! Thank you for your feedback! If the sables were a little flat and seemed greasy, it may be because the dough wasn’t cold/chilled enough before baking. Did you chill the dough overnight or for about 2 hours? Also, when slicing the dough in circles and placing the circles onto the baking sheet, try to act fast so the dough doesn’t have time to warm up. The colder the dough circles will be, the more they will hold their shape when baking. I hope this helps!
I meant to put 5 stars, but it only put 4.5. 😏 I made them with French sarrasin flour, they’re perfect with my coffee. I’ll be making a new batch soon. Oh, I also only use 200g of butter and it’s plenty.
Thank you!
I love your dishes
Thank you!
Did you come up with this recipe yourself? Because I just found almost the exact same recipe by cookbook author Alice Medrich, from the book Pure Dessert. The only difference I can see is she uses cacao nibs, and you use chopped dark chocolate. Link https://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/nibby-buckwheat-butter-cookies-recipe.html
Hello, Rae. The vast majority of recipes on the blog are recipes that have existed in France for sometimes hundreds of years, and not recipes I’ve “invented”. I always try to share how I or my mother/grandmother made these recipes. Sablés are an extremely simple recipe with really 4 ingredients (flours, sugar, butter), so there will be plenty of extremely similar recipes. I prefer dark chocolate myself, but if you prefer cacao nibs, go for it! Happy baking 🙂