There isn't much to be said that has not been said before. They're called World Peace Cookies, have earned the much-coveted, almost-never-bestowed "favourite cookie" tag of many an accomplished baker.
Created by the Picasso of Pastry.
I have yet to perfect them - I mean, in terms of taste and texture they're there but I just can't roll them into nice enough circular rolls. And since we prefer smaller portions, my attempts to make them smaller worked, but the aesthetics were sacrificed (which is not to say that they would have been better looking larger - oh dear).
I really wish I had nicer looking photos. But truly, what does it matter when the people in your life who are not that crazy over sweet stuff (AK, mum, dad) can't stop eating them??
I now understand what all the hype is about. And all of it totally deserved. And now I have fallen too...what is there not to love? Melt-in-the-mouth but not too buttery, the bittersweet (only oh so slightly bitter and just a touch sweet), dark chocolate taste heightened by the miniscule amount of sea salt.
I compromised a little in terms of ingredients, and made the cookies slightly less sweet than the original by lightly packing my brown sugar (the recipe calls for packed). I used Vochelle 100% Cocoa Butter regular sized chocolate chips, which I chopped up into smaller pieces. I bought French sea salt in large crystals and pulverized a pinch with mum's pestle and mortar. And I couldn't find unsalted butter, so I used normal salted butter and reduced amount of salt slightly.
I also made my cookies smaller. The original recipe calls for the dough to be divided into half and rolled into 2 logs, but I made 4 logs. I also prefer to freeze the logs rather than just chilling them - thanks to our humid Malaysian weather, the chilled dough just melted too fast during the cutting/laying process.
I compromised a little in terms of ingredients, and made the cookies slightly less sweet than the original by lightly packing my brown sugar (the recipe calls for packed). I used Vochelle 100% Cocoa Butter regular sized chocolate chips, which I chopped up into smaller pieces. I bought French sea salt in large crystals and pulverized a pinch with mum's pestle and mortar. And I couldn't find unsalted butter, so I used normal salted butter and reduced amount of salt slightly.
I also made my cookies smaller. The original recipe calls for the dough to be divided into half and rolled into 2 logs, but I made 4 logs. I also prefer to freeze the logs rather than just chilling them - thanks to our humid Malaysian weather, the chilled dough just melted too fast during the cutting/laying process.
World Peace Cookies
(adapted from here)
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
155g unsalted butter, at room temperature - I used salted Golden Churn
2/3 cup (lightly packed) light brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp fleur de sel or ¼ tsp fine sea salt - I used slightly less than 1/4 tsp of finely ground sea salt crystals)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract - I only had vanilla essence
140g bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous ¾ cup mini chocolate chips
Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder together.
Beat the butter until soft and creamy.
Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.
Pour in the dry ingredients and mix 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 t a work surface, gather it together and divide it in three to four portions.
Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 2 cm in diameter.Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and freeze them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
Preheat oven to 160˚C.Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.Using a sharp knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1 cm 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 3cm between them.
Bake the cookies on sheet at a time for 12-15 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 the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.
(adapted from here)
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
155g unsalted butter, at room temperature - I used salted Golden Churn
2/3 cup (lightly packed) light brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp fleur de sel or ¼ tsp fine sea salt - I used slightly less than 1/4 tsp of finely ground sea salt crystals)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract - I only had vanilla essence
140g bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous ¾ cup mini chocolate chips
Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder together.
Beat the butter until soft and creamy.
Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.
Pour in the dry ingredients and mix 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 t a work surface, gather it together and divide it in three to four portions.
Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 2 cm in diameter.Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and freeze them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
Preheat oven to 160˚C.Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.Using a sharp knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1 cm 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 3cm between them.
Bake the cookies on sheet at a time for 12-15 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 the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.
They taste a million times better than they look
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