Starting in Fall 2024, I began selling sablés as a trial run of starting my own food business. I sold at four Brooklyn markets under the brand name “Pomelo Pastry”. This project was over a year in the making; I poured so much effort into recipe tests, package design, paperwork, and research it took to launch an LLC. With Blue Aster Bakery, I'm so excited to expand my menu to include other delicious baked goods at my farmers' market stand. The sablés will be available to purchase at some farmers' markets as well as other Hudson Valley shops. Stay tuned for more information.

What are sablés?

Sablés are a French shortbread cookie, known for their tender crumb and "sandy" texture. These cookies are rich, buttery, and just a little sweet. I was influenced by my mom, who would frequently include this type of shortbread in her famous Christmas cookie boxes. She adapted Dorie Greenspan's aptly-called "World Peace Cookies" recipe, which are pure chocolate decadence. My mom also introduced me to "punitions", another type of sablé popularized by Poilâne Bakery in Paris. I'll never forget the image of seeing those cookies piled high in the bakery storefront, ranging in colors from pale gold to deep caramel based on customer preference of doneness. Poilâne taught me that a cookie does not need to be very sweet to be delicious; in fact, their subtle sweetness is what makes them so addictive since it makes it possible to eat a hundred in one sitting!

Why sell sablés?

Due to their richness and short texture, sablés have a long shelf-life, making them the perfect treat to send as a gift or nibble on over the course of a week. For this reason (and because of my personal love for them), I decided sablé boxes would be the perfect first product to launch commercially.

What flavors are available?

Four standard flavors will be available to purchase: (1) Classic Butter Sablés (2) Olive Oil Cornmeal Sablés (vegan) (3) Sesame Cheddar with Aleppo Pepper (savory) (4) Maple Sugar Rye Sablés with Chocolate Chunks. It was important to me that I support small, sustainable farmers and producers, and that customers can taste the quality of the ingredients in the cookies. All of the grains (wheat flours, cornmeal, oats), eggs, butter, cheddar, and maple are sourced from New York State.

Where can I buy them?

Check out my Instagram for more details on which markets I will be selling at and thank you for supporting me on my journey! This is the first small step I take to hopefully running a brick-and-mortar bakery one day.