Stack tiny colored hearts into a frozen column, wrap with plain dough, slice ultra-thin and you’ve got cookies that look impossibly precise!(Even if you’re messy in the kitchen)
Every so often, I try to do responsible things like plan ahead and fail almost 100% of the time in the service of Something More Fun I Just Thought Of. Enter these adorable Heart Sablés: buttery, light, gently snap, and not too sweet. They’re made by embedding stacked tiny hearts inside a round cookie log and slicing thin. The result looks impossibly precise even if your technique is haphazard.
This sablé dough is the base for many cookies—the same dough can be split and tinted to create embedded shapes. For these cookies, divide dough into two portions (2/3 and 1/3). Tint the smaller portion, cut many small hearts, stack and freeze them into a column, then wrap with the plain dough to form a log. Slice thin, roll edges in colored sugar, and bake.
Origin: Technique seen across Pinterest and YouTube, often used in cakes as well as cookies.
Shapes & Colors: Any small shape can be embedded (clovers, diamonds, stars). Gel food colorings are recommended; powdered freeze-dried fruit can tint but may be muted.
Yield: Makes just over two dozen; consider doubling the recipe to share.
You’ll need a 1-inch cutter for the center shapes to make 2-inch final cookies.
• 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup (40 grams) powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) fine sea or table salt
• 1 cup (8 ounces or 225 grams) unsalted butter, diced (cold or room temp)
• 1 teaspoon (5 grams) vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, separated
• Food coloring, to tint
• Colored sugar, to finish
1. Make dough in a food processor:
Combine flour, sugars, and salt. Add cold diced butter and pulse until it disappears, then run until it just begins to clump. Add egg yolk and vanilla; pulse until combined and dough forms masses.
2. Or make dough in a mixer:
Beat butter, sugars, and salt until creamy. Add egg yolk and vanilla; beat. Add flour until incorporated into a smooth dough.
3. Divide and tint:
Divide dough into 2/3 (about 410 g) and 1/3 (about 205 g). Tint the smaller portion (or split and tint two colors). For marbling, fold and pat dough lightly to combine colors without over-mixing.
4. Form hearts:
Roll tinted dough between parchment to 1/4–1/2 inch thick. Freeze on a board for 5–10 minutes until firm. Cut 1-inch hearts and stack them into a column, pressing gently so they adhere. Freeze the column until solid (10–15 minutes).
5. Form final cookie log:
Wrap the heart column with the plain dough by forming coils and smoothing them around the column. Roll in parchment to smooth and press tightly. Freeze the log until solid, about 30 minutes.
6. Slice and bake:
Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly beat the reserved egg white. Brush the chilled log and roll edges in colored sugar. Slice into just under 1/4-inch rounds, roll edges in sugar, and place on a parchment-lined sheet 1 inch apart. Bake 9–11 minutes until golden underneath. Cool on the sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to racks.
Baked, cooled cookies keep for 3 weeks in a tin at room temperature. The frozen dough log keeps well, wrapped in parchment and plastic, for 1–2 months.
