Candied Fennel Seeds and Chocolate Sables

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CANDIED FENNEL SEEDS AND CHOCOLATE SABLES

 

I wanted to make a fun, confetti cookie, something that was festive for the holidays, but then I was thinking that it is way too common. Instead of confetti sprinkles, I decided to use candied fennel seeds for the same effect, in the cookies that I wanted to bake.

 

I had seen Sanjana Feasts, Paan cookies which were so cute. She uses mukhwas masalo, which is a blend of a few ingredients. 

 

Sables’ are French butter cookies, or sable breton. It refers to the sandy texture of the cookie. The cookie has a delicate crumble, it is light, and sweet, and very addictive! They are perfect little Christmas cookies and are fun to make for the holidays. 

 

The dough can take on different flavor profiles and I used candied fennel seeds and finely chopped chocolate in mine with a tinge of nutmeg in it. 

 

candied fennel seeds and chocolate sable

The dough is made of simple ingredients:

  • All purpose flour
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground nutmeg – always use freshly ground nutmeg, because it truly elevates the taste of any baked good.
  • Unsalted butter
  • Egg yolks
  • Granulated sugar
  • Confectioner’s sugar or powdered sugar
  • Vanilla extract
  • Candied fennel seeds – the best place to get this is from the Indian grocery store or you can purchase it from Amazon or any online Indian grocery store. It is cheapest to get it from a local Indian grocery store though. Linking it here
  • I use good quality dark chocolate, that is finely chopped so that I can bits and pieces in the dough. 
  • Red Sanding sugar: Linking it here

 

For the sable dough recipe, I loosely adapted the iconic Dorie Greenspan’s recipe, linked here. Her cookies and her cookbooks are always such a joy to bake from. I was lucky enough to attend one of her classes, and bake alongside her to make this beautiful lemon blueberry loaf, which was superb!

IMG 4658 scaled

USING THE BROWN ROLL FROM A PAPER TOWEL METHOD:

Now this is a Martha Stewart method, that I learnt from Jenn, from Deliciously Noted blog. Martha Stewart says to put the rolled cookie dough, wrapped in plastic, into a brown roll from a paper towel to secure the shape of the dough, so that it does not flatten out when resting in the fridge. It is a brilliant hack and I love it.

candied fennel seeds and chocolate sable

 

candied fennel seeds and chocolate sable

 

FOOD STYLIST TIP FOR COOKIES:

When I was making these cookies, I realized that if I wanted them to look pretty I would require some sort of hack to do so. So when they were freshly baked, what I did was to put some candied fennel seeds on the top, digging into the cookie while it is still soft, when out of the oven. 

 

This process has to be done quickly, else the cookie will begin to harden and it will not be possible to put the candied fennel seed into the baked cookie. This is a tip that I thought of by myself as I was thinking how to beautify the cookie.

 

candied fennel seeds and chocolate sable

STORING AND SHIPPING THE COOKIES:

The cookies will keep in an airtight container for upto 2 weeks. If you want to ship these cookies, these could be one of the first few cookies that you make, since they stay for a bit longer, so they can wait to be packed as well.

 

You can even simply make the dough, and put it into the freezer. When you want to bake them off, simply apply the egg white, coat it with sanding sugar, and then bake it off as per usual instructions.

 

If you do make these cookies, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post.

 

XO

Amisha

 

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