Finally the sun has permanently come out and it doesn't look like it wants to go away any time soon, which is great because I work using solar energy. If the sky is gray then I'm gray and can't seem to function.
But now the sun is out, the snow has MELTED!!! And it's starting to look a lot like Spring! I love this time of the year, I feel like Nature is not the only thing that's about to come back to like. I also feel full of hope and new life. I feel like I can conquer the world when Spring comes along... If only I could stop procrastinating now!
Anyway, it's been a very long while since I've baked something for myself and I was starting to be in sugar withdrawal. With the bakery it feels like whenever I take out the butter and eggs it's always to do something for someone else. So, yesterday I've decided I was going to do something for me, myself and I. I've been seeing these World Peace cookies (or Korova cookies) all over the web now and when I realized that I actually had the baking book (Baking: From my home to yours from Dorie Greenspan) with the recipe, curiosity own and I had to bake them.
And trust me, they are well deserving of all the praises and rave reviews they've been getting. Salty but sweet, more of a sablé than a chewy cookie, they literally melt in your mouth. They're absolutely delicious... only problem is that you won't be able to stop eating them. I had to take them away from my mom, actually she begged me to hide them from her (after eating 6 of them one after the other!!).
So my advice would be this one: bake them, enjoy them, and give some away! After all, they are World Peace cookies so spread some joy around you!! (your waist line will thank you! )
World Peace/Korova Cookies
But now the sun is out, the snow has MELTED!!! And it's starting to look a lot like Spring! I love this time of the year, I feel like Nature is not the only thing that's about to come back to like. I also feel full of hope and new life. I feel like I can conquer the world when Spring comes along... If only I could stop procrastinating now!
Anyway, it's been a very long while since I've baked something for myself and I was starting to be in sugar withdrawal. With the bakery it feels like whenever I take out the butter and eggs it's always to do something for someone else. So, yesterday I've decided I was going to do something for me, myself and I. I've been seeing these World Peace cookies (or Korova cookies) all over the web now and when I realized that I actually had the baking book (Baking: From my home to yours from Dorie Greenspan) with the recipe, curiosity own and I had to bake them.
And trust me, they are well deserving of all the praises and rave reviews they've been getting. Salty but sweet, more of a sablé than a chewy cookie, they literally melt in your mouth. They're absolutely delicious... only problem is that you won't be able to stop eating them. I had to take them away from my mom, actually she begged me to hide them from her (after eating 6 of them one after the other!!).
So my advice would be this one: bake them, enjoy them, and give some away! After all, they are World Peace cookies so spread some joy around you!! (your waist line will thank you! )
World Peace/Korova Cookies
(From Baking: From my home to yours)
Makes about 36 cookies
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 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
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
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°F (160°C). 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 one 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.
Do ahead: Packed airtight, cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 2 months. They can also be frozen in log form for months, and can be sliced and baked directly from the freezer, adding a coupld minutes to the baking time.
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 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
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
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°F (160°C). 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 one 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.
Do ahead: Packed airtight, cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 2 months. They can also be frozen in log form for months, and can be sliced and baked directly from the freezer, adding a coupld minutes to the baking time.
