Pâte sablée, or shortbread pastry, is the richest of all the pâtes you can make, and it’s most often used for tarts. Think of it as a richer, sweeter cousin of pâte brisée, with more butter and sugar packed into the same basic idea.
I read somewhere that you could make this with a stand mixer instead of doing it all by hand, and yes, it actually works. It cuts down the time and the mess considerably, without giving up the texture you’re after.
This dough is very soft, so if it tears or you make a mistake while rolling it out, don’t stress. It’s forgiving enough to patch and press back together, and once it’s baked, nobody will ever know.
(Experiment 227) Pate sablee
Ingredients
- 140 g butter room temperature
- 70 g icing sugar
- 30 g almond flour
- 1 egg
- 280 g flour
Instructions
- Cream the butter in the standing mix bowl, add the sugar, and whisk until creamy. Add the egg and almond flour and whisk until it’s all smooth. At this point, all the flour and again, whisk until it’s incorporated.
- Lay a plastic film on a countertop and dump the dough from the bowl onto the film. It will be very “sandy” like. Using the plastic film, shape it into a ball and put this in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Then use a rolling pin to flatten it. The thickness you want is somewhere between 1/8″ and 1/4″. Note that in the picture it’s a tad over as I was on autopilot and was certain this tin was 9″ but it was an 8″ so it’s a tad too thick.
- While the oven warms up, roll down your dough and place it in your pie tin. The dough should extend beyond the tin, gently press it down but make sure it mold the bottom properly. Just roll a rolling pin to cut excess dough.
