Raspberry Rose Sables / Blueberry Lavender Sables

Of course I bought little pink and lavender cookie plates once upon a time.

I went to a wedding this weekend. The bride is my New Favorite Friend of 2017, but if you pressured me you might get me to say I like her groom even better. But I'd be a liar. Or maybe it's not a lie. I'll never tell. And the good news is now that they are married I don't ever have to pick.

So he's part Italian...and you know that means COOKIE TABLE. On the table was an unassuming cookie. It was beige with red bits. I took it home, because taking away a box of cookies is what you do, and ate it before going to bed. Because eating cookies before going to bed is what you do.

It haunted my dreams.

I didn't expect rose nor raspberries. I expected cherry maybe. I looked it up, hoping it was a thing. It's a thing and not a little one. Apparently, it's a New York Times published cookie by Pierre Hermes. I ordered the ingredients from Amazon Sunday morning. While there I ordered lavender oil for cooking too. I thought how about a purplesque cookie with blueberries instead of raspberries.

Truth be told, unsurprisingly the raspberry rose ones are tastier, but they are both gorgeous. Though my cookies are very much more pink than the ones at the wedding. They taste hauntingly delicious. And let me state for the record, I loathe a sliced cookie, but I did it here because Pierre told me to, and I survived.

The recipe is cut and pasted below, just incase the link to the NYT ever goes down.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SUGAR:

¼ cup (60 grams) sanding sugar
¼ teaspoon pure rose extract (like Star Kay White)
Red liquid food coloring

FOR THE SABLÉS:

½ cup (10 grams) freeze-dried raspberries
1 ½ cups (204 grams) all-purpose flour
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (155 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
⅓ cup (67 grams) sugar
½ teaspoon pure rose extract (like Star Kay White)
¼ teaspoon fleur de sel

PREPARATION

To make the sugar: Put the sugar, extract and a few drops of coloring in a small zipper-lock plastic bag, seal the bag and shake until the color is even. Add more color if you'd like.
To make the sablés: Put the raspberries between sheets of wax paper, and crush them with a rolling pin or the bottom of a skillet. Don’t expect perfection — it’s fine to have mostly powder and a few small nuggets. Whisk the raspberries into the flour.
Working with a mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until it’s soft and creamy, but not airy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar, extract and fleur de sel, and beat 3 minutes more. Turn the mixer off, scrape down the bowl, add the flour mixture all at once and pulse the mixer on and off to begin incorporating the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until the dough forms soft curds and then starts to clean the sides of the bowl. Give it a few last turns with a spatula, then scrape it out onto the counter. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, and roll each into an 8-inch-long log.
Spread the sugar out on a piece of wax paper, and roll the logs in the sugar until they’re completely coated. Wrap each log in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days.
When you’re ready to bake, position the racks to divide the oven into thirds, and preheat it to 325. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Unwrap the logs, trim the ends if they’re ragged and cut the logs into ½-inch-thick rounds. Place them on the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each round.
Bake the cookies for 19 to 21 minutes, rotating the sheets top to bottom and front to back after 10 minutes, or until the cookies are firm around the edges and golden brown on the bottom; the tops will remain pale. Rest the sablés for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks. Serve — or pack into a container — when the cookies come to room temperature.