World Peace Cookies

In addition to the snickerdoodle biscotti, I decided to make a couple of recipes from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours for my Operation Baking Gals package this month. I looked for recipes that seemed like they would keep a couple of days, and I found this one: World Peace Cookies.

I know Tuesdays with Dorie did this a while back, and the cookies looked delicious, so I decided to give this a try. I mean, what soldier wouldn’t like chocolate??

I was also glad to use this recipe as an excuse to dig into my box of salty goodness that I received from Marx Foods a while ago. They sent me a sampler of specialty sea salts for free, so I figured this recipe would be perfect to add a little coffee flavor to. Instead of the salt suggested in the recipe, I used this gorgeous espresso salt!

Thanks again, Marx Foods! I can’t wait to play with the other salts too!

I did try a couple of cookies, and I have to say that this is a fantastic recipe! I’m sure the soldiers I sent these to will truly enjoy them!

World Peace Cookies
Source: 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
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (used 1/4 tsp. espresso salt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Using a mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together in another bowl.
2. Turn off the mixer. Pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the mixer to avoid 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 using a spatula only until it’s incorporated.
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 a baking sheet with parchment or silicone mats.
5. 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.
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.