World Peace Cookies

In the age of the digital food blog, I’ve found that it is incredibly easy to forget about the physical world of cookbooks. I have purchased and received as gifts many cookbooks that I flip through initially then place on a bookshelf to forget about. Lately, I’m trying to remember to take a look at the recipes in these books before I decide on a recipe from the internet. This is one of those recipes.

This cookie is a French shortbread involving a lot of chocolate. The brown sugar helps to make it chewier than more traditional shortbreads. As the story goes, too, they are named “world peace” cookies because they would solve all of the world’s problems they are so delicious. I have to agree that these cookies are very good. The only problem that I had with the recipe is that it did not make enough! These are a serious contender for perennial Christmas cookie.

WORLD PEACE COOKIES
Based on a recipe found in this book.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
11 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. fleur de sel (or 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a medium bowl, sift flour, cocoa, and baking soda.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed.
  3. Add sugars, salt, and vanilla extract, then beat for another 2 minutes.
  4. With the mixer turned off, add the dry ingredients, then pulse the mixer at low speed ~5 times. If there is still flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a few more times, then mix on low speed for 30 seconds, or until flour is just incorporated.
  5. Toss in the chocolate pieces, mixing only until incorporated.
  6. Turn dough out onto work surface, gather together, then divide in half.
  7. Shape each half into a log with 1 1/2″ diameter.
  8. Wrap logs in plastic wrap, then refrigerate at least 3 hours.
  9. Heat oven to 325 degrees with rack in center of the oven. Prepare two baking sheets.
  10. Slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2″ thick. Arrange cookies 1″ apart, then bake one sheet at a time for 12 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

NOTE: The recipe yielded 25 cookies. I sprinkled a little salt on top of each cookie before baking.