Cinnamon, orange and clove sablés and goodbye, "Mad Men"

Unlike my other favorite TV shows, my relationship with Mad Men was never steady: I loved it at first and could not have enough of it, only to get disappointed with the fifth season, then I got excited again with the sixth season and last week, when I watched the series finale, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it: I liked a couple of things, hated others and wanted to punch Don in the face two or three times (definitely a love/hate relationship).

I guess that anyone who watched Mad Men felt like punching Don in the face at least once, and not only in the series finale.

[to avoid spoilers here I invite you to discuss the finale in the comments, if you’re interested]

As much as the finale wasn’t as great as I’d expected Mad Men was indeed a really good show and it was worth watching every bit of it – I’ll certainly miss Peggy (my favorite character), Roger, Joan, Don, Sally, and maybe even Pete: they all had great moments, great scenes to remember.

As I was watching the Mad Men’s finale I munched on these sablés, and they turned out so delicious I had to share the recipe with you: I might not have been too crazy about the episode, but these sablés did not disappoint me – great texture and great flavor, not to mention they will make your kitchen smell wonderful when you bake them.

Cinnamon, orange and clove sablés
slightly adapted from the beautiful and delicious Patisserie at Home: Step-By-Step Recipes to Help You Master the Art of French Pastry

250g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt
75g icing sugar
finely grated zest of 1 large orange
150g unsalted butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Set aside.
Sift the icing sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer, add the orange zest and rub them together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add the butter and beat until creamy and light.
Beat in the vanilla extract, then the yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition (scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally). Turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients, then mix on low speed just until a dough forms – do not overmix.

Divide the dough into two equal parts. Place each on a piece of parchment paper; shape dough into logs. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in the fridge until very firm, about 4 hours (the dough logs can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.)

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper - I like Beyond Gourmet a lot.
Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the freezer). Cut log into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake until golden brown around the edges, 12-14 minutes. Cool completely on the sheets over wire racks.

Packed airtight, the cookies will keep for about 5 days at room temperature.

Makes about 40