Carts at flea markets in the United States tend to sell food of the deep-fried variety, if they sell refreshments at all. In France - at least at the Brocante de Chambord - they sell delicious buttery cookies and pralines, along with tiny cups of pitch-black coffee. The Loire Valley is directly north of Poitou-Charentes, so the shortbread at this market was the plate-sized Broyés du Poitou, the region's traditional, shareable specialty.
Meant for celebration, and to be broken and shared amongst friends, the cookie has a brotherhood dedicated to its preservation: the Confrerie de L’Ordre des Chevaliers de la Grande Goule. The recipe is quite simple, and easy to make at home. Since butter is the star try to find a good quality European-style salted butter - it will make a difference.
{Les Broyés de Poitou}
Yield: One plate-sized cookie
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125 g sugar
250 g flour
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or extract)
2 tsp. rum (optional, but good)
1 egg
125 g cold salted butter, cubed.
Egg wash (1 egg beaten well with a teaspoon of water)
In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt, vanilla, rum and egg. Stir with a fork just until a crumbly mixture forms - it will not resemble a dough in any manner at this point.
Add butter cubes to bowl and rub into the dry ingredients by hand, using your thumbs and forefingers, until the butter is coated and in pea-sized pieces. At this point, continue to knead the mixture together with your hands until a cohesive dough forms. Form the dough into a ball and then pat into a flat disk. Wrap the dough in plastic, and refrigerate for just a bit - half an hour or so. (This step can be skipped, but it will make the dough easier to work with.)
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Unwrap the dough and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Roll the dough with a rolling pin into a circle approximately 1/2” thick and 8-10” in diameter. With your fingers or with a fork, crimp the edges to decorate. Brush the dough evenly with egg wash - don’t forget the sides - and then score the top with a fork to decorate.
Transfer the parchment paper to a baking sheet, and bake on the middle rack of your oven for 35-45 minutes until deep golden brown.
Let cool completely before breaking.
Break, share, celebrate, enjoy!