If there’s one French Holiday cookie recipe to have in your repertoire, this is the one. These Butter sablés from the Alsace region, known as “butterbredele”, are the most common cut-out cookies made and enjoyed over the Holidays in France. They are buttery, subtly flavored with lemon zest and satisfyingly crisp yet sandy.
They are also simple to make – which make them a great baking project for the whole family. They are perfect for gifting, hanging on trees or just to be devoured on the spot.
Cooking Notes:
- Make sure you use unsalted room temperature butter.
- These Butter Sablés are flavored with lemon zest, which is optional. As another option, you can also use orange zest or ½ tsp of freshly grated cinnamon.
- Do not overmix the dough, stop when the ingredients are just combined. The less you mix the dough, the more delicate in texture the sablés will be. On the opposite, the more you mix, the tougher the sablés will be.
- These Butter Sablés shouldn’t bake too golden in color, they must remain rather pale with a slight yellow hue from the egg wash. In comparison, they are much paler than the Breton Salted Butter Sablés.
- I used a star-shaped cooking cutter here, but any shape works. You can use a toothpick or a straw to poke out holes at the top of each cookie if you wish to hang them on a Christmas tree.
I hope you’ll love this Butter Sablés from Alsace (Butterbredele) recipe as much as I do! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.
You may also like:
- Cocoa Almond Thumbprint Cookies from Alsace (Linzele)
- Spiced Cookies with Candied Citrus Peels and Almonds (Leckerli)
- Raspberry Jam Swiss Roll
- Almond Chocolate Twice-Baked Cookies from Provence (Croquants)
- Raspberry Jam-Filled Sablé Sandwiches (Lunettes de Romans)
Did you make this recipe?
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4 comments
Truly wonderful cookies with elegant taste and easy to make! I accidentally rated them lower and couldn’t undo it 😬 Don’t let the rating fool you- these are super tasty!
Haha no worries, thanks so much for your feedback Mina!
Do you need to add the egg wash?
Hello. The egg wash (1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp of milk) is what you lightly brush over the cookies right before baking… It gives the cookies a nice exterior shine and bit of extra crispness. (Step 3 in the recipe directions). Sorry if it wasn’t clear!