Today I attempted making Pierre Herme's Chocolate Sable Cookies. The recipe is in the Standard Baking Co. cookbook my mother gave me for Christmas, and although I have never had these cookies, or even seen them in person, they looked scrumptious in the photograph and I decided to make them. Making something you have never had is more of a challenge. I had no frame of reference as to the consistency or taste. My cookies might be close to the original, but I honestly have no idea. What I do know is that they were difficult to make. The dough is very dry (but has the most heavenly scent) and you are supposed to roll them into logs, refrigerate them, and then slice them and bake them. Slicing dry dough is not easy - even with a sharp knife. The dough crumbled apart. My husband saw the disaster and suggested pressing the dough into a cupcake tin - for a guy who has never baked anything in his life this was a great idea. I pressed the dough into cupcake tins and baked. The cookies held together.
My husband describes these cookies as being similar to the chocolate cookies in oreos. They are dark rich chocolate. I do think that the dough would make a fantastic no roll pie crust - perhaps for a custard pie. Overall the cookies weren't a total disaster, but I wouldn't call them a success either.
Have you ever struggled with a recipe?
