Coconut Sablés

No matter how many times you reroll the scraps, these cookies always come out tender and delicate, which is one reason I love them so much. You can roll out sheets of dough and freeze them, well-wrapped, for several weeks. Stamping frozen dough won’t affect baking time because it’s rolled out so thinly. Unsweetened coconut can be found at health-food stores.

• 2-1/2 oz. (2/3 cup) finely ground almonds
• 2-1/2 oz. (1 cup) unsweetened shredded coconut 
• 10 oz. (2-1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
• 10 oz. (20 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 5 oz. (1-1/3 cups) confectioners’ sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature

Tip:

For the best results, measure your flour by weight instead of volume. (1 cup of all-purpose flour equals 4-1/2 oz.) If you don’t have a scale, be sure to use the proper technique when filling your measuring cups.

Blend the ground almonds, coconut, and flour; set aside. With the paddle of an electric mixer (or regular beaters), cream the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy but not melted. Add the salt and confectioners’ sugar; mix on medium-low speed until thoroughly combined, about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Reduce the speed to low and add the egg; mix until incorporated. Add the flour mixture; as soon as the dough comes together, stop the mixer. Divide the dough into three parts. Roll each part between two sheets of parchment to about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the dough, still between the parchment, to baking sheets and chill in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. When the dough is quite firm, peel off the top sheet of parchment and stamp out shapes with a 2-inch round scalloped cookie cutter (or whatever shape you like, though shapes with skinny parts will brown unevenly). Lay the cookies 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet. Reroll the scraps, chilling first if necessary. Bake until the cookies are light golden around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through. Cool on the baking sheet until cool enough to handle (about 10 minutes) and then transfer the cookies to a rack.