World Peace Cookies

The cookies are totally capable of inspiring world peace! They are also capable of destroying the peaceful nature of your house if you don't make enough of them! These are amazingly delicious. My husband summed it up best when he described the salty afterbite as equivalent to the taste sensation of eating chocolate covered pretzels. These have a deep rich chocolatey flavor that is enhanced with the salty afterbite. Words cannot describe how good these are. These are best eaten with a glass of milk because they are rich. As usual Dorie's instructions were spot on and these cookies came out perfectly as described. This is my second cookie success from Dorie's book. The first with my pumpkin version of Dorie's Granola Grabbers. This gives me hope that I might become a good cookie baker after all! This makes my cookie loving husband very happy!

World Peace Cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used organic flour)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Green and Black Organic 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 (I used pure cane sugar)
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (I used gray salt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used organic vanilla extract)
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips (I used organic chocolate chips)

Makes about 36 cookies.

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.

Turn off the mixer. Pour in the flour, 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. Take a peek — 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.

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.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Working with 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.

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.

SERVING: The cookies can be eaten when they are warm or at room temperature — I prefer them at room temperature, when the textural difference between the crumbly cookie and the chocolate bits is greatest — and are best suited to cold milk or hot coffee.

STORING: Packed airtight, cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Source: Baking From My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan.