World Peace Cookies
Source of Recipe
"Baking: From My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan
Recipe Introduction
Dorie says that these cookies were created by Parisian pastry chef Pierre Hermé. I'd been hearing about these cookies for ages. Everyone online makes a Very Big Deal about them. Being a little perverse, I am sometimes a little resistant to Big Deals. Mea culpa. These are truly amazing. One of the best cookies that I've ever tasted. The secret is the sea salt, the cocoa and the chocolate - use the best, darkest cocoa and the very best bittersweet chocolate you can find. She says that you can use chocolate chips, but I think seeing those chunks of chocolate in the cooky add to the experience. The saltiness provided by the sea salt is a really important flavor component - it really does enhance the sweetness and the depth of chocolate flavor. Follow her directions exactly - the cookies really won't look done when you take them out of the oven, but they will be fine. Trust the recipe. Note that you make the dough ahead of time: you can refrigerate (at least 3 hours) or freeze up to 2 months).
List of Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
Recipe
Whisk the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.
In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add both sugars, the sea salt and the vanilla and beat for another minute - just until the sugars are absorbed.
Turn of the mixer and pour the flour mixture into the bowl. Drape a towel over the mixer and pulse the mixture at low speed 5 times for a couple of seconds each time. Check to see if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough and if so, pulse a couple more times. At that point, continue mixing on low for about 30 seconds - just long enough to barely incorporate the flour. Add the chocolate pieces and mix just enough to incorporate. IMPORTANT: Dorie says here, "for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don't be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly."
Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a log that is 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours - or up to 2 months in the freezer. Dorie says that if you freeze them, you don't even need to thaw, just slice and bake for an additional 1 minute. That's what I did and it worked perfectly.
When you are ready to bake, put a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two cooky sheets with parchment paper.
Slice the logs into 1/2-inch thick rounds. Dorie says not to worry if the rounds crack, just mush them back together. Place the rounds on the cooky sheets - leaving 1-inch between each cooky. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 12 minutes. Dories says, "they won't look done, nor will they be firm, but that's just the way they should be". Cool on a wire rack. Served warm, these cookies elicit groans. I think that since the dough freezes so well, they would make a great thing to greet weekend guests with as they walk in the door weary and ready for a treat.
Makes about 36 cookies
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