Fill your empty cookie jar with the incredibly crispy, buttery and melt-in-your-mouth French butter biscuits - palet Breton. These are a year-round favorite - a divine sweet treat from Brittany to accompany your afternoon cup of tea or coffee.
I came up with the recipe for palet Breton accidentally when I had a few egg yolks as a leftover. I was surfing the Internet for baking ideas: lemon curd, lemon bars, etc., but I wanted to make something authentically French. Yes, palet Bretons came to my mind and the table.
What is palet Breton?
Palet Breton (translated "Breton puck" from French) is a French biscuit whose name comes from the shuffleboard game. The baked biscuits resemble metal disks (a cast iron pucks) used to play this game.
These French salted biscuits were created at the end of the 19th century and are a specialty of Northern France – the Brittany region, which is well-known for its excessive use of butter, especially salted butter.
As per Brittany tourism:
Brittany’s butter is special, most often salted, in particular using salt from Guérande. There are two reasons for that. First, butter is mainly milk (in particular, cream), and Brittany is a big milk producer. Secondly, in the past, the region was exempt from the salt tax. Brittany brought these two products together to ensure that its butter would keep for longer. That’s also the reason why Breton butter retains all the flavors of the milk.
The Biscuit Traou Mad, a Pont-Aven company in France, is the foremost leader that is specialized in the production of authentic palet Breton.
As plain butter biscuits, they are sold in France as packed and in bulk. Nowadays, French companies create and sell chocolate palets Breton with chocolate chips, palets coated with milk or dark chocolate, too.
Sable Breton vs. palet Breton
Both sable Breton and palet Breton are of French origin; each of them is buttery and salty. Yes, salt is added to these treats to accentuate their sweetness and help enhance the flavors.
But there is some difference between them. Sable Breton (“sablé” means “sand” in French) are thin and shiny shortbread-like cookies with a sandy texture. Palet Breton (means “Breton puck”) is a thick and airy biscuit.
Still, nowadays, the confusion between Breton cookies and biscuits Breton exists. In any way, they both are the most popular French cookies/biscuits.
Pasty rings to make authentic palet Breton
To make the authentic palet Breton with the regular contours, you need to use special Breton biscuit rings designed by the French company Gobel. They are small metal circles measured 2 ⅓ inches/6 cm in diameter and ½ inches/1.2cm high. The rings are sold as a set of six.
Can you make palet Breton without special pastry rings? Yes, use your favorite muffin pan. The walls of a muffin tin are not perfectly vertical, but it does the job. You will get the same delicious result.
Why palet Breton recipe works
- The recipe calls for a few ingredients and is easy to make.
- These French butter biscuits are a new baking alternative to use your favorite muffin mold.
- Palet Breton are kids’ favorites due to their crispiness.
- The biscuits are perfect for the afternoon tea or coffeetime.
- Bite-sized treats make a beautiful edible gift and are an excellent food idea at parties.
Ingredients
The proportion of these French butter biscuits' ingredients is very crucial in getting the best baking result. Please, do not change the amount of ingredients.
Egg yoks: use egg yolks from large eggs.
Butter: this is a star of the recipe! The recipe calls for the softened unsalted butter; if you use salted butter, decrease the amount of salt in the recipe. I recommend using a top-quality butter with a high-fat content (European-style butter) since the flavor and the taste of these biscuits depend on the quality of butter.
Sugar: the palets Breton require powdered (icing) sugar.
Flour: all-purpose flour is needed for this recipe; although, feel free to replace half of the all-purpose flour with buckwheat flour.
Salt: use regular salt or fleur de sel for the authentic taste.
Baking powder: to avoid a tinny taste, use aluminum-free baking powder.
How to make palet Breton step by step
Place egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk them until whitish (photo 1). Add the softened butter and beat until homogeneous (photo 2).
Using a flour sifter, sift flour, salt, and baking powder, add to the butter mixture and mix to get the dough but do not overmix (photo 3).
Wrap the dough in a plastic film and refrigerate it for three to four hours.
Preheat oven to 300 F/150 C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange pastry rings on it. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out between two sheets of parchment to a thickness of about â…” inches/1.5 cm.
Using a cookie cutter of about 2 inches/5 cm in diameter, cut the dough into small disks (photo 4).
Place the dough disks in the un-buttered pastry rings (photo 5) or the cavities of a muffin pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the biscuits from the oven and let them cool a bit in the rings or the muffin tin. Then carefully remove biscuits from the rings by pushing them from the bottom (photo 6).
In the case of the muffin mold, turn it out and gently remove the biscuits. Use the tip of a knife to facilitate the removal of palets if needed.
Expert tips
- Since the dough is quite sticky, work as fast as you can. If the dough softens at any step, bring it to the fridge (or even freezer) for a few minutes to firm it up.
- To help coax dough disks from the parchment paper after rolling the dough, use a pastry scraper or metal spatula.
- As an alternative to rolling the dough with a rolling pin between two sheets of parchment, roll the dough out as a cylinder of 2 inches/5 cm in diameter, wrap it in a plastic film, refrigerate and then cut in equal disks of about â…“ inches/1.5 cm.
- The biscuits are extremely crumbly when hot. Allow them to cool down in their pastry rings (or a muffin mold) before removing them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is European-style butter?
European-style butter (it is the Irish butter that is sold in the States under the brand name Kerrygold) has a little less water, a softer texture and a higher butterfat content than regular American butter.
That is why the European butter is a preferred butter for baking: it gives the flavor and keeps the pastries from spreading while baking. Read more about what is the difference between European and American butter.
How to make gluten-free palet Breton
As per madam Mercotte, replace all-purpose flour with buckwheat flour and follow the same recipe.
How to store palet Breton
They are usually stored in metal boxes or other airtight containers for an extended period. To keep the biscuits dry, they must be kept away from moisture.
How to serve palet Breton
Enjoy these cute biscuits on their own, with a cup of tea or coffee. They also go perfectly with ice creams.
More delicious teatime desserts you will love
- Brown Butter French Financiers
- Easy Blackberry Heart-Shaped Friands
- Banana Cupcakes With Chocolate Frosting
- Browse all the Cake Recipes
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PrintRecipe card
Palet Breton: French Butter Biscuits
Fill your empty cookie jar with an incredibly crispy, buttery and melt-in-your-mouth French butter biscuits - palet Breton. These are a year-round favorite - a divine sweet treat from Brittany to accompany your afternoon cup of tea or coffee.
- Total Time: 30 minutes (plus resting time)
- Yield: 12 biscuits 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 2 ½ large egg yolks
- ⅔ cup + 2 ½ teaspoons (90 g) powdered (icing) sugar
- 4.2 oz (120 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup + 4 tablespoons (155 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) baking powder
* If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
Instructions
-
Place egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk them until whitish. Add the softened butter and beat until homogeneous. Using a flour sifter, sift flour, salt, and baking powder, add to the butter mixture, and mix to get the dough (do not overmix!). Wrap the dough in a plastic film and refrigerate for three to four hours.
-
Preheat oven to 300 F/150 C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange pastry rings on. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out between two sheets of parchment to a thickness of about â…” inches/1.5 cm. Using a cookie cutter of about 2 inches/5 cm in diameter, cut the dough into small disks, and place them in the un-buttered pastry rings the cavities of a muffin pan.
-
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the biscuits from the oven and let them cool a bit in the rings or the muffin tin. Then carefully remove biscuits from the rings by pushing them from the bottom. In the case of the muffin mold, turn it out and gently remove the biscuits. Use the tip of a knife to facilitate the removal of palets if needed.
Notes
- Since the dough is quite sticky, work as fast as you can. If the dough softens at any step, bring it to the fridge (or even freezer) for a few minutes to firm it up.
- To help coax dough disks from the parchment paper after rolling the dough, use a pastry scraper or metal spatula.
- As an alternative to rolling the dough with a rolling pin between two sheets of parchment, roll the dough out as a cylinder of 2 inches/5 cm in diameter, wrap it in a plastic film, refrigerate and then cut in equal disks of about â…“ inches/1.5 cm.
- The biscuits are extremely crumbly when hot. Allow them to cool down in their pastry rings (or a muffin mold) before removing them.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 biscuit
- Calories: 160
- Sugar: 7.4 g
- Sodium: 157 mg
- Fat: 9.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.7 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 65 mg
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.
The recipe was originally published on April 17, 2018. It has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.
Jeannette says
These look INCREDIBLE for a recipe with such little ingredients. How perfect for a weekend baking treat! Thanks for sharing 😀
Irina says
You are very welcome, Jeannette! And happy baking! 🙂
Nicole says
Love the sounds of this! Definitely my next weekend baking project!
Irina says
Sounds great, Nicole! Happy baking!
Beth Pierce says
I made these for breakfast and they went great with my coffee. I love these! Thanks!
Irina says
You are very welcome, Beth. Thanks for letting me know that you loved the recipe.
Krissy Allori says
I love that this recipe has very few ingredients and ingredients that you are almost always going to have on hand. It's great for when you are craving a sweet treat. Thanks!
Irina says
This is true that a few ingredients turn into a delicious treat. Thanks for stopping by, Krissy!
Alison says
These were delicious! Perfect with morning coffee or an afternoon snack!
Irina says
Thank you, Alison. I am glad that you loved the recipe.
Victoria says
These look INCREDIBLE! I've never heard of palet Breton before, but they look delicious and easy to make. Perhaps I will try them with a muffin pan before investing in special rings. Also, I usually don't know what to do with leftover egg yolks other than maybe Hollandaise. This is a fun idea! Thanks 🙂
Irina says
You are very welcome, Victoria! And yes, a muffin pan will work to make these biscuits. Happy baking and enjoy!
Janelle says
So yummy, thanks for sharing this recipe.
Irina says
You are welcome, Janelle!
Dannii says
These look so light and delicious. I have never heard of these before, but I can't wait to try biscuits.
Irina says
You will love these biscuits more once you make them 🙂 Thanks for visiting the recipe, Dannii!
Nart says
I tried this recipe, and it was so different from anything we've had before (in the right way, of course!)...we We really liked these biscuits!
Irina says
Thank you for letting me know that you loved these biscuits, Nart. I am happy to hear that 🙂
Charla says
We love shortbread, so I just had to make them! The instructions were easy to follow, would make again!
Irina says
Great news, Charla! Thanks for your feedback.
Alex says
Definitely something I will be making soon - I love the sound of these, and the texture looks incredible! I look forward to filling up my cookie jar with these 🙂
Irina says
Sure thing, Alex! Happy baking and enjoy the biscuits.
Peg Racine says
Excellent recipe, crisp and lovely with tea and coffee.
Irina says
Thank you, Peg, for your comment.
Debra Hart says
I am very interested in trying these biscuits. Question: Would Italian 00 Caputo flour - soft wheat flour be okay to use in this recipe? Thank you, Debbie.
Irina says
Hi Debbie, thanks for your interest in the recipe. Since I live in the States, I use all-purpose flour, and it is difficult for me to say how Italian 00 Caputo flour would work. I did some research, and it seems that all-purpose flour and 00 flour could be used interchangeably. Please, have a look at this article from thekitchn.com. I hope this helps. Please, let me know how your baking went. Happy baking!
Junko says
European style butter is not about just high butterfat content, but mostly because it is "cultured" butter. This gives the superior flavor to American style, churned butter. (BTW, Kerry Gold is NOT a cultured butter.) I forgot to add baking powder the first time I made these, but they still tasted delicious. I glazed them with egg wash and made a cross pattern with a fork before baking, and they looked pretty. I think 300F is a little too low for these cookies, though. Thanks for the recipe!
Irina says
Junko, Thank you for making the recipe. And thanks a lot for your feedback: it is always helpful for readers. 🙂 I am happy to hear that you enjoyed these French-style biscuits/cookies.
Piinero says
a 1/3 of an inch is definitely not 1.5cm.. an inch is ~2.5cm so a third would be around 0.8cm. Did you mean 2/3 of an inch?
Irina says
Hi Pinero, Yes, you are right. It should be 2/3 of an inch. Thanks for noticing a mistake. 🙂