When I attended the Piglet Party, I tasted Dorie Greenspan’s chocolate sables and fell in love. Chocolaty, crispy and not too sweet, they were absolutely addictive. (And they were shaped like pigs!) I’ve been wanting to make sables, and there are two recipes in The Essential New York Times Cookbook for them: one by Dorie Greenspan, and one by Pierre Herme. To make these, I adapted both recipes. Dorie’s instructions are impeccable, and I loved Pierre’s idea of using brown sugar with all the warm spices. The dough has to be refrigerated for a couple of hours at least, and I think it's best when refrigerated overnight—the flavors seem to meld together better. If possible, use fresh-ground spices, but one of the great things about cookies is that you can make them on the spur of the moment with what you have in the house—so if you have pre-ground allspice or cinnamon, etc., it’s OK to use that—just make sure the spices are really fresh.
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