World Peace (and Love) one cookie at a time........

I'm taking a break from this week's TWD bake. I'm not exactly a fan of brownies but in case you don't already know, I AM



a huge fan of Dorie Greenspan! And ta-dah! Her pop-up Cookiebar opens in NY this week!!  I am so excited for Dorie and her son Josh; mother and son are going into business together, quite a rarity nowadays - most families would be fortunate if they are able to sit through a meal without arguing at the same table together! Dorie's such a sweet soul and if you have the chance to meet her, you'll know she's the type of best friend you'd want to have!! I wished D and I could be in NY this week to cheer them on and to, of course, taste their delectable treats. But since I can't be there in person, I'm supporting them in spirit by baking Dorie's iconic World Peace Cookies. They are, by far, the best chocolate cookies I've ever had! Originally called Korova Cookies, they were later renamed by Dorie's neighbor whose entire household was hooked on these cookies and believed a daily dose of it was all's needed to ensure world peace and happiness! 
The cookie is very chocolaty and has quite a unique texture - it belongs to the sables (French shortbread) family so somewhat sandy yet fudgy at the same time since it's oozing with rich morsels of dark chocolate bits!  It can crumble when you cut into the cookie dough but that's how it's supposed to be. However, I tweaked mine today and eventhough you're not supposed to mess with the dough too much, I went ahead and press them, then formed into heart-shaped cookies, just to give it a little LOVE (alright, it's my only homage to V-Day this year!) It should have a crackly surface once baked, as you can see, mine don't but they still taste superb!

Too all you non-New Yorkians who aren't priviledged to be in NYC to visit Cookiebar this week, I encourage you, no I URGE you to dash to your kitchen right after reading this and whip up a batch of World Peace Cookies. I promise you that it'll be your favorite cookie recipe from here on out. Bake it for Valentines. Bake it for CNY. Bake it for a friend, a neighbor, office colleagues, better yet, your boss - makes for a perfect brown-nosing gift! C'mon! What are you waiting for? 
World Peace Cookies (adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours)

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

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (I used 1/2 tsp fleur de-sel de Guérande)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used Valrhona Guanaja 70%), chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.

2. Turn off the mixer. Pour in the dry ingredients, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. If there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough. 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. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

3. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)

4. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

5. Using a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.

6. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.


I sprinkled a little more fleur de-sel on the finished product.