La Sablésienne Pure Butter Sablés 100g

This is the sablé in its most straightforward form: a small, scalloped butter biscuit that makes a fine argument for keeping the recipe simple. La Sablésienne makes it in Sablé-sur-Sarthe with wheat flour, fresh butter, sugar, eggs, a little salt and corn starch. The maker describes its 1670 line as richer in butter and egg than its other sablés, with egg mixed into the dough rather than brushed onto the surface. That helps explain the biscuit's delicate bite: crisp at first, then tender and crumbly, without feeling heavy. The butter gives it a round, creamy flavour; the sugar stays in a supporting role. You can enjoy the clean finish on its own, but it is especially good beside something that provides contrast: a fragrant tea, a bright fruit preserve, or coffee with a little edge. There are no chips, icing or clever tricks to distract from the baking. That is part of its charm. Take one, notice the buttery aroma, and then see how long your resolve lasts before reaching for a second.

• The proper tea break: Brew Dammann Frères Earl Grey Yin Zhen Tea Bags and put a few sablés on a small plate. The tea's bergamot lifts the biscuit's buttery richness; neither needs sugar to make the pairing work. The tea is sold separately.
• A little fruit, a little crunch: Add a restrained spoonful of Maison Perrotte Strawberry Pink Grapefruit Jam beside the biscuits. Its fruit and citrus make a lively counterpoint. Keep the jam on the side so the sablés stay crisp; the jar is sold separately.
• A very easy dessert: Crumble one or two biscuits over plain yogurt or vanilla ice cream just before serving. You get a buttery crunch without switching on the oven. It also makes a smart, small finish to a dinner when everyone has declared themselves full but somehow still wants a bite.

Sablé-sur-Sarthe did more than inspire a biscuit's name. La Sablésienne keeps alive a local story that reaches back to 1670, when Madeleine de Souvré, the Marquise de Sablé, introduced little round biscuits at the court of the Grand Condé. The company itself began much later, in 1962; the date on the 1670 Marquise de Sablé line marks the culinary tradition, not the founding of the biscuiterie. That distinction matters because it leaves room for both history and today's bakers. The house still describes baking its biscuits on metal plates and lifting them by hand. It is a pleasing thought when you open an ordinary 100 g sleeve: a courtly origin, a working bakery, and a biscuit that asks very little of you beyond a cup of tea.

Ingredients and allergens: Wheat flour, fresh butter (milk), sugar, eggs, salt, corn starch. Made in a workshop that also uses sesame, soy and tree nuts.

Store in a cool, dry place.