Our recipe for rich, crisp, French Butter Cookies is so easy to make, and the result is unlike any other baked good you’ve ever eaten!
French Butter Cookies (also known as Sablés Bretons) are beloved European cookies featuring four ingredients: Salted European butter, egg yolks, sugar, and all-purpose flour, and brushed with an egg yolk and milk glaze for a glorious sheen. These beautifully golden, lightly sweet cookies are crunchy, satisfying, and irresistibly tasty!
Sugar Cookies, Shortbread Cookies and French Butter Cookies
With almost the same ingredients, these three classics may sound like versions of the same cookie. But there are distinctive, yet subtle differences that make each of them uniquely delicious!
Sugar cookies have a higher flour-to-butter ratio, giving a light, soft cookie. Shortbread has a higher butter-to-sugar ratio (with no eggs), for a rich, crumbly cookie. French Butter Cookies fall in between. The high European butter content and multiple egg yolks make them ultra-flavorful with the perfect crispy sweetness for morning coffee, afternoon tea, or a late-night snack.
Other Recipes Like Butter Cookies
- Traditional Sugar Cookies are soft, buttery and perfect for decorating!
- Our 4-ingredient Holiday Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread is crunchy, scrumptious and fun to make!
Ingredients
Dry Staples: Granulated sugar and all-purpose flour are all you need for this cookie – it’s simple!
Egg: We’re just using the egg yolks for this cookie. (You should make some meringue cookies so the egg whites don’t go to waste!)
Butter: Salted European-style butter is absolutely essential for this recipe! Its higher milkfat content makes it richer and more flavorful – the key to this brilliant cookie!
Glaze: One egg yolk and a splash of whole milk make an eggwash to glaze over the cookies – it bakes up to a beautiful, shiny glaze!
How to Make French Butter Cookies
STEP ONE: Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to beat the sugar and COLD butter until lightly mixed. Don’t try to make it creamy. Add in the egg yolks and beat again until just combined. Add the flour and beat until a dough forms.
STEP TWO: Divide the dough into two balls. With one cookie dough ball, make a flat, round disk on a large sheet of parchment paper with one of the dough balls. Cover with another piece of parchment and roll out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut circles, but don’t lift them out of the dough yet. Place the sheet of cookie dough in the fridge to chill, and repeat the process with the second ball of dough.
STEP THREE: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine one egg yolk and the milk, then whisk together. Set aside. When the dough is chilled enough to be firm, transfer each circle to a baking sheet lined with a fresh sheet of parchment. Using a fork, make cross-hatch markings on the cookies, then brush the egg & milk glaze over the top of each.
STEP FOUR: Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden. Do not overbake. These cookies will crisp up as they cool. Repeat with the remaining unbaked cookies and enjoy!
Tips for Success
- The defining KEY to these cookies is using salted European-style butter (Kerrygold, President, Vermont Creamery, etc.)
- Refrigerate the dough if it becomes difficult to handle (too soft).
- Room temperature egg yolks will mix and blend better than chilled ones.
- French Butter Cookies are ideal as wafer cookies that can be sandwiched with jam, ganache, or lemon curd.
- These cookies will last for about 2 weeks at room temperature in an air-tight container.
What Are French Butter Cookies?
French Butter Cookies, or Sablés Breton (sables meaning “sandy” and Breton meaning “from Brittany”), are one of the most recognizable cookies in all of Europe. They are deliciously decadent because they’re created with European butter and have a golden, glossy sheen from an egg yolk wash. These little treats are rich, crisp and delicately sweet. French Butter Cookies make you feel like you’re at a sidewalk cafe in Paris!
Can You Freeze French Butter Cookies?
Because of their high butter content, these cookies and the raw dough freeze exceptionally well! Wrap baked cookies tightly in plastic wrap (I would double-wrap) and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
For the dough, roll it into a log and double-wrap it with plastic wrap and foil. It will keep for 2 months. When ready to make more cookies, thaw overnight in the fridge, then “slice and bake”. Don’t forget to glaze with the egg wash!
Other European Sweet Treat Recipes
- Linzer Cookies
- Italian Almond Cake
- Irish Cream Mousse Cups
- Chocolate Almond Danish
- Bread Pudding with Vanilla Caramel Sauce
- Cranberry Pistachio Russian Tea Cakes
Equipment
- Stand Mixer (see note)
Ingredients
Cookies
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150g)
- 1 ½ cups salted butter (high-quality, European style) cut into small cubes
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (275g)
Glaze
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 ½ teaspoons whole milk
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar and butter. Beat with the paddle attachment until lightly mixed. You do not want to cream it together. Add egg yolks and beat just until combined. Add flour and beat until a dough starts to form.
- Divide the dough into 2 balls. Form one ball into a flat, round disk on a piece of parchment paper. Cover the disc with another piece of parchment paper and roll the dough out to ¼-inch thickness. With a 2 ½-inch round cookie cutter, cut out cookies, but do not remove the cookies from the dough sheet.
- Place the cookie dough sheet (still on the parchment paper) in the fridge to cool for 30-45 minutes to firm up. Repeat this process with the other cookie dough ball.*The dough must be chilled. The cookies can lose their circular shape if the dough is too soft during transferring.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. When the cookie dough has firmed up, transfer the dough circles to a baking sheet lined with a fresh piece of parchment paper. Use the tines of a fork to drag lines over the top of each cookie. Then brush with the egg/milk glaze.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges just begin to turn golden. (Do not overbake. These cookies will crisp up as they cool.) Let rest on the pan for a couple of minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat until all the dough has been rolled, cut out, and baked. Be sure to chill the dough whenever you're not actively working with it to keep it as firm as possible.
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