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Parmesan sablé cookies stacked on top of each other on a white plate.
5 from 5 votes
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Authentic Parmesan Sablés (Savory Shortbread)

A flaky, ultra-cheesy, melt-in-your-mouth savory cookie. Using professional French bakery techniques, these 6-ingredient Authentic Parmesan Sablés are easy enough to make with your eyes closed but taste like they came from a Michelin-starred kitchen. The ultimate make-ahead snack for pairing with wine and charcuterie!
Author Charlé Visser
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Resting Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 32 pieces
Course Baking, Snack
Cuisine European, French

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Prep: Preheat your oven to 170°C (338°F) for a fan-forced/convection oven, or 190°C (375°F) for a standard conventional oven. Line baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
  • Rub the dough: In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and cold, cubed butter. Rub the butter into the flour swiftly with your fingertips until it forms a sandy texture.
    200 grams butter, 230 grams all-purpose flour, 6 grams salt
  • Add flavor: Add the finely grated Parmesan, smoked paprika, and Dijon mustard. Mix with a fork, then use your hands to firmly push it together into a dough. Do not overwork it.
    200 grams Parmesan cheese, 1 grams smoked paprika, 8 grams Dijon mustard
  • First Chill: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, flatten it slightly, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  • Shape: Weigh out 20-gram pieces of dough. Roll them into balls and flatten them slightly into rustic "hockey pucks" on your lined baking trays.
  • Score: Dip a fork into some flour and press a criss-cross pattern into the top of each cookie.
  • Egg Wash: Whisk the egg and milk together, then pour it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the clumpy egg whites. Brush this wash over the top of each cookie. Pro tip: Run the floured fork through the grooves one more time so the egg wash doesn't pool in the cracks.
    1 egg, 50 grams milk
  • Second Chill: Place the tray in the fridge for 10 minutes. Baking from cold ensures a flaky, perfect texture.
  • Bake: Bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the trays 180 degrees, and bake for another 8 minutes (20 minutes total) until deeply golden brown.
  • Cool: Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before eating.

Notes

  1. Oven temperatures (Crucial!): This recipe was developed using a fan-assisted (convection) oven at 170°C (338°F). If you are using a standard conventional oven without a fan, you MUST increase the temperature to 190°C (375°F) so the cookies bake properly and don't spread into puddles.
  2. Butter: Your butter should be cold, but slightly pliable. If it is frozen rock-solid, you will have a very hard time rubbing it into the flour to create the necessary "sandy" texture. If it is too warm, the cookies will be greasy and flat.
  3. Cheese: You can substitute Parmigiano-Reggiano with any hard, aged cheese like sharp Cheddar, Manchego, or Pecorino Romano. However, it must be grated very finely (use a microplane or the fine side of a box grater) so it distributes evenly. Do NOT use the pre-grated powdery cheese from the pasta aisle; it contains anti-caking agents that will dry out your dough.
  4. The "double chill" technique: Do not skip chilling the dough! Chilling it for 30 minutes before shaping makes it easy to handle. Chilling the shaped, glazed cookies for 10 minutes right before baking ensures the butter is completely cold when it hits the hot oven, guaranteeing a flaky, bakery-style texture.
  5. Keto & gluten-free adaptations: To make this recipe low-carb, keto, or gluten-free, simply swap the regular all-purpose flour for fine Almond Flour at a 1:1 ratio.
  6. Make-ahead, freezing, and storing: — To freeze raw dough: Portion the dough, press with a fork, and freeze the raw pucks solid on a baking tray. Transfer to a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. You can egg wash and bake them straight from frozen—just add 1 to 2 extra minutes to the baking timeю
    — To freeze baked cookies: Freeze completely cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let them thaw at room temperature, then pop them in a 150°C (300°F) oven for 3 minutes to restore their ultimate crispiness.
    — Storage: Keep the fully cooled baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Do not store them in the fridge, or the humidity will cause them to lose their crisp crunch.
8. Serving warning: These pair incredibly well with wine, beer, and charcuterie. Because they are so addictive, I highly recommend making a double batch if you plan on serving them to guests!
9. Calories: Calories indicated is for one cookie/biscuit/sablé, weighing 20 grams when raw.

Nutrition

Serving: 20g Calories: 99kcal Carbohydrates: 6g Protein: 3g Fat: 7g Saturated Fat: 4g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g Monounsaturated Fat: 2g Trans Fat: 0.2g Cholesterol: 23mg Sodium: 218mg Potassium: 20mg Fiber: 0.2g Sugar: 0.2g Vitamin A: 231IU Vitamin C: 0.001mg Calcium: 80mg Iron: 0.4mg
Keywords:Cheese shortbread, parmesan biscuit, sablé
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