Palets Bretons

Name: Palets Bretons
Total time: 1 hour (plus 1 hour for chilling)
Yield: Makes 8
Ingredients: 1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. (150 g) all-purpose flour; 1½ tsp. baking powder, preferably aluminum-free; 6 Tbsp. (85 g) salted butter, cubed, at room temperature; 7 Tbsp. (90 g) sugar; 2 large egg yolks; ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract; ½ tsp. flaky sea salt, such as fleur de sel or Maldon

By David Lebovitz

September 25, 2025

Photo by Ed Anderson

I remember cooking in Italy with a friend, and as she was dousing another platter of vegetables in olive oil, she said, “In Italy olive oil is a flavor. It’s not just to keep things from sticking to the pan.” I feel the same way about butter in France. If you’ve had a warm croissant from a pastry shop, you know how important (and transcendent) the flavor of butter is.

Palets bretons are oversize cookies that feature butter, and because they’re from Brittany, they’re traditionally made with beurre salé, salted butter. If you’re still one of those people who thinks one should use only unsalted butter for baking, these generously sized buttery cookies will change your mind. These cookies are even better made with French or European-style higher-fat butter.

Recipe notes

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