World Peace Cookies

These cookies have quickly become one of my favorite cookies - and they are easy to make - which is even better!  One of the best things about this recipe is that you can freeze the dough and bake it as you need it. 

Ingredients 

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 stick plus 3 tbsp. (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. fleur de sel
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.

2. 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.

3. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.

4. 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. 

6. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

7. 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. 

8. 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.)

9. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

10. Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.

11. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes (exactly) — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. 

12. 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.

Recipe from Dorie Greenspan in her book Baking from My Home to Yours