Oh, Dough You Didn't!

Awww cookie #1…what can I say? We laughed, we cried, we joked how your existence on that crappy piece of paper towel as the backdrop to my photo screams amateurism and laziness wrapped up in WTF and who does this clown think he is…but damn you look good gurl!

I thought starting off with something simple and straight forward like a sable was a good call for a couple of reasons. First, it’s very simple as the ingredient list is relatively short. Second, the crafting of the dough is essentially four steps so it’s easy to stay on track. And as Sarah herself says in the book, you can’t f*** these up! No, she didn’t say that, but honestly, I think she could have said something to that effect.

This dough came together very quickly, but since it is a butter cookie, there is a good amount of inactive chilling time since you need these bad boys to hold their shape while they cook. So, after pulling together the dough in about 15 minutes, and then taking another 10 minutes to roll the dough into a 12″ log which is then rolled in sanding sugar, you need to refrigerate it for about 2 hours until it’s firm enough to slice into discs for cooking. And once you’re ready for prime time these supple beauties take about 15 minutes to cook at 350 degrees.

RESULTS
These cookies were slightly crispy on the edges and a little chewy in the middle. They are classically buttery just like you want them to be, and they go really well with tea or coffee. I will be making these again very soon I’m sure, especially when I’m ready to crush a few sticks of butter in one sitting!

FOR NEXT TIME
There were a few things I would do differently next time.

• I would refrigerate the dough a little bit after making it, but before rolling it into a log. I think it might help get a more exact circle shape when forming the log (mine were slightly oblong) and it would also help reduce the indentations on the outside of the log from the dough being too soft.
• I would refrigerate the sliced cookies that are waiting to get cooked to help prevent spread and keep the shape a little better. A few cookies got a little thin!
• I might add a little more chocolate next time, as well as probably a little more bourbon. But this all comes down to personal preference and how tipsy and sugared up you want to be after your 5th cookie.
• The directions say to cut the cookies into 1/4″ slices, so here I was with ruler in hand trying me damnedest to get 1/4″ on every cookie. It was a futile effort so I ended up with some a little thicker and some a little thinner. Cookies were still great, but next time I will just aim for consistency of thickness and not worry as much about getting every single one to 1/4″.
• When cutting through the log I would sometimes hit a larger piece of chocolate which would inevitable cause the cut to be less precise. So, chopping the chocolate a little smaller would help, and make sure I’m using a laser to cut all my discs…or a very sharp knife, whichever is handy.
• I used demerara sugar to roll these in, instead of the called for sanding sugar as I didn’t have any on hand. I think it turned out really nice with a satisfying crunch to the outside of the cookie. But I will try sanding sugar next time to see how it compares.