Learn how to make the best chocolate sablés with this easy recipe. These French slice-and-bake chocolate cookies store very well and you can also freeze the cookie dough for later.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and cocoa powder. Sift through a fine-mesh sieve if there are lumps of cocoa. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar and the salt using the paddle attachment.
Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl and stir the mixture to form a crumbly cookie dough.
Add the milk and the vanilla and mix until a cookie dough forms.
Stir in the chocolate (mini chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate).
Divide the dough in two and roll each half into a log with a 2-inch diameter. Roll each log in turbinado sugar so it is completely coated and wrap in plastic wrap. If the dough is too soft to handle, chill the logs briefly before coating in turbinado.
Refrigerate until solid, preferably overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line baking sheets with parchment.
Slice each log into ¼-inch (6 mm) thick cookies and place on lined baking sheets about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart.
Bake the cookies until they are set and their surface appears dry (no longer shiny). This takes about 14–16 minutes. Let them cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
For the cocoa powder, I like to bake with Dutch-processed cocoa powder, specifically from the Cacao Barry brand (Plein Arôme or Extra Brute cocoa powder), which you can find on Amazon.
Sifting the cocoa powder with the flour helps mix the two ingredients together and also eliminates the lumps in the cocoa powder.
Do not replace cocoa powder with hot cocoa mix because hot cocoa mix contains additional sugar, powdered milk, fat, and emulsifiers.
For the chocolate, finely chop your favourite chocolate or use mini chocolate chips. Hershey's is a great brand to bake with and you can also find it on Amazon.
If you prefer, you can incorporate nuts, either in the dough or by rolling the cookie dough in them. Make sure the nuts are finely chopped.
Every few slices, turn the dough log to maintain the log's round shape.
You may let the dough soften slightly to make slicing easier, but if it's too soft, you may ruin the shape of the log as you slice it.
Use your fingertips to press together or reshape any cookies that break as you slice them. The dough is forgiving.
Bake the cookies until the surface looks dry and the cookies have set.