World Peace Cookies

Even if these weren’t my favorite cookies in the universe—they were created by Pierre Herme, the legendary Parisian pastry chef with whom I’ve collaborated on several cookbooks—I’d make them for their name alone and their right-for-any-season message.

As sophisticated as these seem, they are really old-fashioned slice-and-bake cookies. What makes them so special is the salt that’s added to the dough—it almost doubles the wow power of the chocolate.

The instructions are for making two logs of dough, but when I need to bake lots of cookies, I make three skinnier logs. If you do this, make sure you still cut the cookies ½ inch thick. For even more cookies, double the recipe.

And for convenience, keep extra logs of dough in your freezer, so you can bake as many of these cookies as you’d like at a moment’s notice.

Makes about 36 cookies

Created by: Dorie Greenspan

• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (5½ ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup light-brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel (available at specialty shops) or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

• 1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda.
• 2. Working with an electric mixer, beat the butter until it is soft and creamy. Add the sugars, the salt, and the vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they just disappear into the dough. You want to mix this dough as little as possible once the flour is added. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.
• 3. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, squeeze it so it sticks together, gather it into a ball, and divide the ball in half. Working with one piece of dough at a time, shape it into logs about 1½ inches in diameter and about 9 inches long. (Make sure the logs are solid—if they feel as if they’ve got holes in the center, flatten and roll them again.) Wrap the dough in plastic and chill the logs for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
• 4. Before baking, center a rack in the oven and preheat to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, nonstick aluminum foil, or silicone baking mats.
• 5. Working with a sharp knife, slice the logs into ½-inch-thick rounds. (Don’t worry if the rounds break—just squeeze the bits back together again.) Place the cookies on the sheets, leaving about 1 inch of spread space between them.
• 6. Bake only one sheet of cookies at a time and bake each sheet for 12 minutes—they won’t look done, but they’ll firm as they cool. Put the baking sheet on a cooling rack and let the cookies stand until they reach room temperature. Repeat with the second sheet of cookies.

Nutrients per serving:
Calories: 90
Fat: 5g
Cholesterol: 9mg
Carbohydrate: 11g
Sodium: 41mg
Protein: 1g
Total dietary fiber: 1g

TIP: The dough can be made ahead and chilled or frozen in logs. If you’ve frozen the dough, you don’t have to defrost it before baking—just let the dough rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes (this makes it easier to cut), then cut and bake; the cookies may need an extra minute in the oven, though. Packed well, the baked cookies will keep for about 5 days at room temperature; they can be frozen for up to 2 months.

November & December 2007

Photographer: Jim Franco

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