Yes, I chose salted butter break-ups for Valentine’s Day. If butter is your true love, as it is mine, this rustic, shareable cookie is the perfect way to celebrate. It’s rich, buttery and meant to be enjoyed with others.
I love communal desserts: a big bar of broken chocolate or pints of gelato with bowls and spoons for everyone to help themselves is a joyful, casual way to end a meal. This cookie is the same idea — a communal cookie. In France’s Poitou region, it’s traditionally baked as one large piece and set in the center of the table for guests to break off chunks and share.
The dough comes together quickly in a food processor, then is rolled between sheets of parchment, brushed with beaten egg yolk (you can tint it with a drop of food coloring for a brighter finish) and scored with the tines of a fork.
There’s something oddly satisfying about that crosshatching and the glossy finish the yolk paint creates.
As it bakes the surface becomes smooth, glossy and a buttery yellow, and you can almost hear the butter sizzling as the cookie comes out of the oven. It’s an elegant yet unfussy dessert for a dinner party, especially when served with broken dark chocolate, a scoop of ice cream or fresh fruit in season. The recipe inspiration comes from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table, a cookbook I return to again and again.
Whether you bake it for two or for a tableful, this salted butter break-up celebrates simple, buttery flavor and the pleasure of sharing food with others.