The French sablés are my favourite. Crispy on the outside and buttery on the inside, they can be very addictive if you are not careful. I know it because that’s what I felt when I discovered La Sablésienne. The baking journey of La Sablésienne started in 1962. The French artisanal “biscuiterie” (biscuit/cookie maker) opened its workshop in Sablé-sur-Sarthe that year, focusing on making pure butter sablé cookies using only traditional recipes. This started the beginning of its baking story.
THE STORY OF LA SABLÉSIENNE
The story of La Sablésienne is the passing of their baking recipes from generation to generation in the town of Sablé-sur-Sarthe, located in the heart of the Pays de la Loire, France. It began with Madeleine de Souvré, the “Marquise de Sablé”, who held regularly her “school of delicacies” sessions in her workshop. One day, in July 1670, she was invited to an event where then King’s brother also attended. As a guest of honour, Madeleine prepared some tiny biscuits for the participants. The King's brother happened to love them, so much so that he ordered Madeleine to serve them to him every day. That’s the original story of the birth of these little sablés.
In 2003, Amélie Loret Scherrer took over La Sablésienne. She herself was also a pastry chef and has been passionate about making biscuits at the age of 6. She enjoys, at the same time, finding forgotten recipes as much as creating artistic designs. That is why, she and her team made the beautiful design of each biscuit box, with an aim to make the boxes an emblem of French “l’Art de vivre” (the art of living).
THE SAVOIR-FAIRE OF LA SABLÉSIENNE
Wanting her customers to taste traditional French biscuits, Amélie insists on using the best of ingredients, e.g flour from the West of France, free-range eggs, and fresh butter. Their sablés are of such quality that no artificial flavour, preservative, and colouring can be found within. Cookies are baked on metal plates and then picked by hand at La Sablésienne, just as they were more than 50 years ago. Cookies coming not from machines, but by hand, it is this human touch that keeps the tastes just as good as they were.
By keeping more than 30 recipes, perfecting the artisanal know-how, and guaranteeing the quality of the ingredients, the French “biscuiterie” has developed innovative delicacies that attract even the cookie connoisseurs to have a taste of their art of French biscuit making. That’s the legacy of La Sablésienne.
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