With love from Brittany
France has many petit-fours, cookies and cakes which originate from the region as well as surrounding provinces, and the palets bretons is one of these. Hailing from Brittany (a province to the NW of France, and which gives the cookie the ‘breton’ part of it’s name), it is a delicate butter cookie which seems barely held together and has a texture unlike any cookie I’ve ever experienced.
Nothing quite like the anticipation of how a new cookie recipe will turn out.
Upon the request of the gorgeous Marie-Laure (also known as Milo), I set out in search of a recipe for these so desired cookies. Whilst I didn’t have much luck myself, the wonderful Cindy found a recipe from a French food blog for these wonders (could it get any more authentic?) which I gave a try, in the hopes that they’d ease Milo’s homesickness with the buttery and sugary goodness they offered.
Milo’s advice - devour these with a mug of hot chocolate, perfect for our cold Melbourne winter nights.
Palets Bretons
Ingredients
4 egg yolks
240g salted butter at room temperature
120g castor sugar
300g plain flour, sifted
Milk, to ‘wash’ the cookies
1. Beat together the egg yolks and castor sugar till light and creamy.
2. Cream the butter then beat into the egg and sugar mix till well-combined.
3. Slowly add the flour, about 1/4 cup at a time, making sure to mix well after each addition.
4. Once all the flour has been incorporated, tip the dough onto a large square of cling wrap and press into a ball shape, then refrigerate for 30 mins.
5. Remove from the fridge then roll into a long, thick sausage. It should be about 5-6cm in diameter. Place back in the refrigerator 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Use a sharp knife and slice up into rounds about 1-1.5cm thick. (Note from Milo - ‘palets is also a word for hockey puck in French, so that gives you an idea of the size of these cookies).
7. Place rounds on a baking tray lined with baking paper and lightly flatten with the palm of your hand. Give each of the cookies a milk wash, then lightly trace a lattice pattern into each with a fork.
8. Bake for 15-20mins till the top of each cookie looks golden, remove and cool on the tray. Whilst it’s cooling, make yourself a cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate, then sit down with your drink and a cookie and relax 
Here are the golden little hockey pucks - crisp golden outsides which disintegrate upon the application of pressure, they’re extremely rich and dangerously tasty in a very moreish way.
Technorati Tags: palets bretons, butter cookie, recipe, baking, French cooking
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Comments
Ellie Thanks Tanna As for Milo’s advice, I’ve given it a try and can heartily recommend it to anyone who needs a little comfort, it’s a cuddle in solid form 
Lisa Those look fantastic! Thanks for sharing the recipe, I’m putting these on the list to try this fall/winter. Did Milo translate it for you?
Ellie Lis - No worries 
And yup, Milo provided the translation, though it’s a reworded version that I’ve put up (as though her version is very, very cute and very, very French, it’s a little lacking in details - no fault of her own, I think the original French version was a little straight-to-the-point as well!)
Bea - Glad they did happy things for you I find foods that bring back childhood memories to be the most comforting! Ahh, for the innocence of youth!
Ellie Kat - they’re very tasty, but perhaps their buttery glory should wait till your repairman comes and fixes your aircon? The amount of butter in these things makes me wonder if they wouldn’t sweat in heat 
Helen Now I remember why I don’t make these more often: i can’t keep them around long enough for fubby to get to try them. I love dunking them in a hot cup of tea, they kinda disintegrate upon hitting the tea and you have to slurp them in quickly, quite funny when you are a kid. Thanks for bringing back real good childhood memories.
Ellie Helen - I’m currently dunking an after-dinner cookie into my cup of chai tea and you’re right, they disintegrate quickly, but that just makes them that much more fun to eat (or rescue from the bottom of the cup with a teaspoon!)
Ivonne OH. WOW!
That’s all I can think of to say. I’m on my way to enjoy a batch so please bake some up for me!
Natalia Mmmm, I’m glad you find a recipe. Those look too good to pass up! I bet they’d be good with a touch of lemon zest too. Yum!
Ellie Ilva - My pleasure I hope you love these cookies as much as I do!
Natalia - Ooh, that’s a wonderful idea! I’ll give it a try next time I make these
Cin Mmmm, that buttery goodness went down a treat, Ellie! Didn’t get to the hot chocolate but it definitely goes well with tea. Dunk and allow to melt on your tongue. Thanks!
Ellie Cin - Glad you enjoyed them They really are a wonderful cookie to have in your cookbook - so easy but so devilishly delicious too!
Ellie Jen - give them a try If you liked the sables recipe in ‘my vue’, you’ll luuuurve these palets!
Wow, that is just an amazing photo!
Milo’s advice - devour these with a mug of hot chocolate, perfect for our cold Melbourne winter nights. I do believe Milo’s giving good advice.