Hi, I am making sablé pinwheel cookies (swirl cookies) today. With two cookie doughs, plain and cocoa-flavored, you can make various shapes of hollandais, which is also called as diamonds or sablés. This cookie has many names in French. In English it can be pinwheel cookies or checkerboard cookies.
French pinwheel cookies, Sables Hollandais. You can also make other shapes of cookies to decorate a Christmas tree. Bon appetit! I love sable cookies, thick yet delicate and sandy textured French cookies. You know? Sable means sand in French.
Also check out my coffee sable cookie video. Thank you for watching. Bye for now.
Pinwheel Cookies – Christmas Sablés Hallandais Swirl Cookie
Cook time
Serves: 30 cookies
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter, softened ( 150g)
- 1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar (155g)
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 ½ cups cake flour (312g) (possible with all-purpose flour)
- 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder melted in 4 teaspoons hot water
- (optional) French cassonade (or brown sugar) to decorate the cookie
Instructions
- 1. Add ⅔ cup of softened unsalted butter in a large mixing bowl and make pomade by whisking it. Then sift in 1 ¼ cups of confectioners’ sugar, and add in ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. And whisk to combine.
- 2. Add in 3 egg yolks one by one mixing homogeneously after each addition. Traditionally only egg yolks are used for French “Sables Hollandais”.
- 3. Sift in 2 ½ cups of cake flour. All-purpose flour works as well but cake flour is usually used to make delicate cookies. And fold until fine sands.
- 4. Transfer only half the cookie dough onto a clean working surface and fraiser once. Then form a ball and flatten a little making a rectangular shape. Wrap and store in the refrigerator to make the dough set.
- 5. Meanwhile in a bowl add 2 tablespoons of unsweetened all natural cocoa powder and 4 teaspoons of hot water. Then stir until combined.
- 6. Pour the cocoa mixture into the remaining cookie dough and stir until roughly mixed. Then transfer to a working surface and fraiser until brown. I did fraiser 3 times, which is wonderful because it makes the dough homogeneously mixed, yet gluten will be minimally created. So don’t worry, your cookies won’t get tough this way. Wrap the chocolate dough and store in the refrigerator for at least one hour, which will stabilize the flour and butter in the dough.
- 7. Now roll out the vanilla dough and chocolate dough as well. And place the vanilla sheet over the chocolate and trim a little to make a rectangular shape. Then roll tightly all the way up just like when you make sushi rolls.
- 8. Now the roll is too soft to be cut, so wrap the roll and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- 9. Then slice the log into ½ inch thick rounds. And lay on a non-stick cookie pan without parchment paper. If you use a regular pan, line with a parchment paper first. Make sure there is enough space between cookies. If you want to make cookie decoration for Christmas tree, make a hole on a cookie before baking.
- 10. Bake at 350 degrees F. (180C.) for about 16 minutes, or until risen and pale golden brown on top.
- 11. Let cool on the pan for 3 minutes and with a cookie spatula transfer cookies carefully on a wire rack and completely cool.
Steven Cirillo says
With the all purpose flour. Is that the same as plain flour? Does that mean there is no rising agent in these cookies? Or should I be using more of a self raising flour?
EugenieKitchen says
Hi, plain flour is all-purpose flour. And if you want you can add a little bit of baking powder but it’s okay without rising agent as this recipe. Happy cooking!
Pauline Yeo says
Hi Eugenie, I just want to say how I like your instructions in this recipe. I don’t bake often so it’s really good to see useful and detailed instructions. Furthermore you explain why certain steps are necessary. I really want to say you’re doing a wonderful job! You’re not just good at your cooking, but good at teaching others too! Thanks!