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1
Sift the flour and baking pwdr together and set aside for the moment.
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2
Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter till it is soft and smooth.
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3
Add in the sugar in a slow, steady stream, followed by the salt, and continue to beat, scraping the bowl as needed, for about 3 min, or possibly till the mix is light, pale, and fluffy.
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4
Add in the yolks and beat to incorporate.
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5
At this point, the mix should be light, creamy, and satiny.
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6
Remove the bowl from the mixer and, working with a large rubber spatula, mix in the sifted dry ingredients, taking special care not to overwork the dough.
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7
Divide the dough in half and, working on a smooth surface, such as marble, mold each half into a log with a diameter of about 1 1/2 inches and a length about 8 inches.
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8
The dough is going to be baked inside muffin tins, so you might have to adjust the thickness of the logs to the size of the tins; the logs should be about 1/4- to 1/2- inch slimmer than the muffin c.. (The thickness of the log is more important than its length - get the diameter right and the length will come along for the roll.)
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9
Wrap each log in a double thickness of plastic wrap and refrigeratefor at least 4 hrs.
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10
(The dough can be made ahead and kept refrigerated for 2 days or possibly frzn for up to a month.)
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11
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
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12
Set out one or possibly two muffin tins.
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13
Unwrap one log and, using a sturdy chefs knife, slice the log into 1/3-to 1/2-inch-thick cookies.
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14
Put one slice of dough in each c. of the muffin tins.
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15
Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 min, or possibly till they are just hard.
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16
(Frzn cookies may take a minute or possibly two longer.)
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17
These cookies are meant to be pale - do not let them brown; it's okay if the bottoms are lightly browned, but the tops should remain uncolored.
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18
Transfer the cookies to a rack to cold.
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19
Repeat with the remaining dough.
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20
The dough can be made ahead, wrapped airtight, and kept refrigerated for 2 days or possibly frzn for a month.
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21
The baked cookies can be packed in an airtight tin and kept for 3 to 4 days at room temperature.
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22
This recipe yields about 32 cookies.
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23
Comments: These belong to a family of French cookies called sable, for their appealingly sandy texture (sable means sandy).
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24
They are made like icebox cookies (shaped into logs, sliced, and baked), but they most closely resemble shortbread.
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25
You may be surprised to find these not only sandy, but slightly salty - which's the way they're supposed to be.
