We tend to think of black pepper as a savory seasoning, but it also has a sweet side. No, pepper itself doesn’t taste sweet, but its trademark bite does pair well with sweet ingredients.

So for this cookie we used black pepper in a richly sweet and buttery sable (pronounced SAH-bley), the French cousin of more traditional shortbread cookies.

And while we usually bemoan the trend in recipe writing to call ONLY for freshly ground black pepper, this is a case where you’ll want to grind it just before using it. It is, after all, the star ingredient.