I first tried these fragrant treats at a farmer’s market stall by Little Tart, a popular bakeshop in Atlanta, GA, and set out to create my own version at home. Like many American culinary experiments, these cookies blend elements from two very different cuisines: French baking and Chinese savory cooking.
I started with an easy, one-bowl recipe for sables – crumbly, shortbread-like French cookies – and added a heaping tablespoonful of star anise, fennel seed, black pepper, cinnamon, and cloves.
Traditionally, Chinese five spice is used to flavor meat, poultry, and seafood – not desserts – but the blend of seasonings works well in cookie dough, adding a nice kick and balancing out the buttery sweetness.
Little Tart glazes their sables with white icing (I tasted a hint of lemon,) but I went a different route and sandwiched cookies together with thin layers of blackberry jam. The warmth of the spices also contrasts beautifully with a dark chocolate ganache.
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Chinese Five Spice Sable Cookies
Recipe by
Servings
Varies depending on cookie cutter size
Prep time
10 min
Cooking time
12-13 minutes
Cuisine
American, French, Chinese fusion
Chinese five spice, a warm, aromatic spice mix typically used to season meat and seafood, is the star ingredient in these easy, one-bowl French sable cookies. This recipe is adapted from Alexandra’s Kitchen and inspired by treats from Little Tart Bakeshop in Atlanta, GA.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 heaping tablespoon Chinese five spice
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- Jam or ganache (about 1/2 teaspoon per sandwich cookie)
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream together butter, sugars, and five spice with a spoon or electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk, stirring until smooth.
- Mix in salt, then stir in flour until just combined. Shape into a ball, flatten into a disc, and refrigerate (ideally overnight, for optimal flavor.) However, these can be prepared right away without refrigerating.
- If chilling the dough, remove from refrigerator and let sit until room temperature. Roll out disc until approximately 1/4 inch thick, then shape with 1.5-2 inch cookie cutters. (I used heart and flower shapes, but round works just fine.) Yield will vary depending on the size and shape of the cookie cutters; I got around 35 flower-shaped cookies.
- Transfer to baking sheets. Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until cookies are set and edges and bottoms are golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to cooling rack. When cookies are fully cooled, turn half the cookies upside down and spread a thin layer of jam on each; place the remaining cookies on top to form sandwiches. Dust with powdered sugar, using a mesh strainer, if desired.
- Store jam-filled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature, and ganache-filled cookies in the refrigerator.
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