Gluten Free Green Tea Lime Sables: Comparison Baking

Gluten Free Green Tea Lime Sables, forefront

Two days ago I posted a blog about Sables, the French cookies. A bit of a rant there, but I am a bit anal about some things; so sorry. I absolutely loved the cookies, which I called Green Tea Lime Sables. Love the flavor, the texture, the tender yet crisp bite. I have been eating them over these two days. Last night I wondered if it would be possible to make these French cookies Gluten-Free? As I pondered the question, having never made gluten-free cookies, one of the main precepts for making the Sables is not to overwork the dough once the flour is added. Any time all purpose (wheat) flour is worked too much, gluten begins to form. For making yeast bread, it is essential. For things such as pie crusts or cookies, this is a disastrous result.

Thinking about the fact that gluten free flours do not have gluten to develop, it would seem that this would make the process simpler. If you do not have to worry about overworking the cookie dough, then what else could cause a problem? I went online. The internet is a wondrous thing. All the information out there, available at a simple search. I searched gluten free cookies, curious to see what sorts of differences there would be, in a general way. Was it just the flour difference? Or, was there a lot of folderol necessary to get a gluten free cookie to set properly? Coming from no gluten intolerance of my own, this was just curiosity. I wanted to be able to post a really delightful recipe for my gluten-intolerant friends out there. These cookies were too good not to share.

What I found out is that for the most part, gluten-free cookies are easy to make. Some guidelines to help establish a better result were things such as using a higher protein flour mixture. I have still not completely established which gluten-free flours are higher in protein, but I used a recipe posted on "The Spruce" (see website here). I had all the flours except amaranth. I substituted quinoa flour for the amaranth. I mixed just enough to make a half batch of cookies. If they didn't turn out well, I didn't want too many. Another thing was an article about crisp versus chewy cookies. I had to think about that for a while. The Sables I had made 2 days ago were not crisp like a gingersnap, but certainly not chewy either. That left me in a quandary. Another item to consider is having the cookie set up instead of flattening. The suggestion was using shortening instead of butter, as butter tends to spread and evaporate more quickly. I thought about using just a little shortening and mostly butter, but last minute changed my mind. I saw a recipe for Gluten-Free chocolate chip cookies by Alton Brown, and he used all butter. If Alton can do it.... Then one site suggested using a lower oven temperature for better baking results.

Tasting side by side; GF in forefront

I sat with my recipe scribbles for the all-purpose wheat flour based Sables and just translated over. Equal amounts of butter, sugars, egg yolks. Two cups of wheat flour translated to 2 cups of gluten-free flour blend. I added in, as with the recipe online some powdered egg white. Mine is Wilton Meringue Powder, which is processed in a place where wheat is also processed, so my cookies would not pass for anyone severely gluten intolerant, but I didn't need them to pass for anyone but me. I wanted to know if the flavor and texture would compare. 

I can say these were a resounding success. At top of this page is a photo of the Gluten-Free version in the forefront, with the previous, wheat based Sables on the little plate, behind. Here at right the same. I took a bite of one, then a bite of the other. My Gluten Free Green Tea Lime Sables are in almost every respect, the same as the non gluten-free. Almost, because the gluten-free ones are just ever-so-slightly more tender. The texture and flavor are - to my palate - indistinguishable. So here is my recipe:

Gluten Free Green Tea Lime Sables

The finished dough; then formed into a brick shape

Makes about 28 - 30 Sables. 

½ cup white rice flour
½ cup tapioca flour/starch

¼ cup quinoa flour¼ cup sorghum flour

¼ cup brown rice flour
3 tablespoons GF powdered egg white
1 teaspoon guar gum¼ cup confectioners' sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
3 - 4 tablespoons lime zest (about 2 limes)
2 teaspoons Matcha Green Tea powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, in 1/2-inch cubes
2 egg yolks
-------------
1 egg yolk, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
¼ cup "sanding sugar" or Turbinado sugar

Sliced, egg washed and sugared, then baked

In the bowl of a food processor, place the first 12 ingredients. Pulse 2 - 3 times to blend. Add the butter cubes and process for a minute or so, until the mixture has noticeably changed in texture. Add in the egg yolks and process until the mixture forms a ball. Turn out onto a surface, divide the dough into two sections and form each into a log or a brick shape. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
 
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees (300 on Convection). Line a baking sheet with parchment. Remove the dough from its wrapper and slice about 1/4-inch thick. Lay the cookies onto the parchment at least an inch apart. Brush the tops with the remaining egg yolk/water. Sprinkle the cookies with a coarse granule sugar or Turbinado Sugar. (This time I used white sugar crystals. For the wheat based cookies I used Turbinado sugar). Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes, until just barely golden on the edges. Cool completely before removing from parchment.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

A Tale of French Sables

Somewhere, at some time, I was aware of French cookies called "Sables." I have no idea when or where I heard of them, but they were stashed in the dusty files in my brain. If asked what, exactly, they are, I would have to say "a French cookie" but without any real details. So, while watching one of the myriad TV shows, I heard mention of French Sables and was curious. I am not French, not do I have any French in my background, so I cannot give any reason except 3 years of high school French classes, for hearing the person on TV pronounce the word as SAH-blays and just "knowing" that this was incorrect. I did more research online and indeed, there is just about every pronunciation under the sun - all of them different. Written in French, the "e" on the end of the word has an accent mark above it, which indicates it is pronounced. All I can assume is that this happened just like with the Spanish word Queso and pronounced in the US as KAY-so (also incorrect). The actual pronunciation of that work is softer; KEH-so. Anyway, back to my windy irritation at mispronounced words, I believe, coming from 3 years of high school French, that Sables is pronounced SAH-blehs; the second syllable soft. I read online of someone saying that a French chef pronounced them SAH-blees, but again, just as American ears hear KAY-so, they may have heard SAH-blees. You say tomato, I say SAH-blehs.

Green Tea Lime Sables

Okay, enough on that subject. My next beef is that in so many places I have read that Sables are a type of "shortbread" cookie. Again, my knowledge of shortbread is that it is crumbly, mainly due to the complete lack of egg in the dough. Shortbread tends to "poof" apart when trying to cut or bite. "Mexican Wedding Cakes" or Guatemalan Polvorosas are shortbread type cookies. And they really let you know it when biting into one. Every recipe for Sables I searched online and the one I saw on TV used egg yolks in the dough. Ergo: not shortbread.

Okay, so I have established (in my mind) what these cookies are not. So, what are Sables? Sables are a French cookie and according to Wikipedia, originally from Caen, in Lower Normandy. The word "sable" means "sand" in French, and the cookies given this name for their sandy texture and golden color. Outside of that, there seems to be every which way to make them, similar to all the pronunciations. Some of the recipes roll out the cookie dough and cut them into rounds. Some leave them as single wafers. Some dust with powdered sugar. Some roll in a log and chill, then slice to bake. Some roll into a brick shape, chill and slice to bake. Some slice the chilled dough very thinly, some slice it very thick, or anywhere in between. Some sandwich them with jam in the middle. Some brush the edges of the chilled dough with egg yolk before cutting and roll in large-crystal sugar. Others slice the chilled dough and brush egg yolk on the tops and sprinkle with large crystal sugar. This large crystal sugar is often called "Sanding Sugar". Turbinado sugar works, too.

So, with all this in mind, and having read about 10 different methods for making Sables, I created a recipe of my own. I wanted interesting flavor, and had just bought a new bag of Matcha Green Tea powder. This new bag of tea is far, far darker green than my previous bag. Now I can understand why some of the baked goods in photos on the web are that deep, rich green color. My green tea baked goods were always very pale. I wanted to combine lemon zest with the green tea powder, thinking that lemon and tea always go well together. Unfortunately, I had no lemons left in the fridge. So, limes. At least the the tea powder and the lime zest were both green. I would have green cookies. They turned out with a beautiful tender texture, tending to easily break into little sandy bits. The cookies are not fragile, just have that sandy texture they talked about.

Most recipes for Sables have a large amount of butter. This contributes to the cookies' texture. The egg yolks that seem to be in almost all the recipes are a binding agent. While the cookies are a little crumbly, they do have a nice tender crispness to them. Most recipes used no leavening (though some do), so they do not grow much in the oven. The most important thing to remember if you want nice tender cookies is not to overwork the dough, particularly after the flour is added. And, after all that, here is my recipe for how to bake Sables.

Green Tea Lime Sables

¼ cup confectioners' sugar

Steps 1 and 2

3 - 4 tablespoons fresh lime zest (about 2 limes)
2 teaspoons Matcha green tea powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
2 cups, minus 2 tablespoons flour
----------------------------
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
large crystal sugar, for sprinkling (about ¼ cup)

Step One: In a small bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients. Use fingers to work the zest into the mixture and release the oils.

Steps 3 and 4

Step Two: In a mixing bowl, or stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add in the granulated sugar with the confectioners' sugar mixture and mix just to combine. Add the 2 egg yolks and again, mix just to combine. If using a mixer, remove the bowl and set the mixer aside. I wrote in the ingredient list "minus 2 tablespoons" of the flour as my dough was difficult to make come together; a little less may work better. Add in the flour and work quickly with a spoon or spatula until it is in large crumbs.
 
Step Three: Turn the dough out onto a surface and using a bench scraper, bring the dough together, fold, turn and scrape.

Steps 5 and 6

Step Four: Once the dough mostly holds shape, divide into 2 portions.
 
Step Five: Form each portion into a log shape or a small brick, as desired.
 
Step Six: Roll the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours. You want the dough to be nicely hardened so it holds its shape when slicing. At this point the dough can be left in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days or even frozen for a month, if needed.
 
Step Seven: When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 on Convection). Remove one of the portions of dough from the refrigerator at a time. Unwrap from the plastic and using a very sharp knife, slice the dough into 1/4-inch thick slices. Lay the slices onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment. This makes the removal of the cookies far easier. If removing from a dry baking sheet, they could break, crumble of become deformed. Use the parchment.

Steps 7 and 8

Step Eight: Mix together the remaining egg yolk with the water and brush onto the tops of the cookies. Sprinkle sugar onto the egg-brushed cookies.
 
Bake them for 18 to 20 minutes, or until just turning golden at the edges. Slide the whole parchment with cookies on to a rack or counter to cool before removing from the parchment. This made 28 (2½ x 2½-inch) cookies.




My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.