I know I’ve bit a rambly lately, so back to discussions only on FOOD!!! And by food, I mean the most decadent, buttery, crumbly, intensely chocolatey cookies you can imagine. This recipe is also sort of a cheat, as it’s fairly famous and has been around for ages. But hey, things are a classic for a reason! I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for years, and finally got around to making them. I’m happy to report that they fulfilled all my expectations! They were fairly easy to make, although not super quick, time-wise, since the recipe does recommend that you chill the dough for a minimum of 2 hours. I ended up making the cookies over the course of two days, refrigerating the dough overnight. If you have enough foresight to do this, or even to make a batch to freeze for later, getting them in and out of the oven is supremely easy and fast, as the cookies take absolutely no time to prep and bake.
I must also apologize for my lack of pictures. I made these while my mom was visiting, and was too busy chatting instead of shot composing. However, the beauty of a universally lauded cookie is that you can ogle the vastly superior pictures here, here, and here. They are as delicious as they look. They are sort of a cross between a sable, a shortbread, and a chocolate chip cookie. For my part, here are some tips I’ve gathered about making the cookies:
- In the words of Dorie Greenspan: “This is an unpredictable dough. Sometimes it’s crumbly and sometimes it comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl. Happily, no matter what, the cookies are always great.” My dough personally came out rather moist and sticky, and I had no trouble rolling it into solid logs that held together. From reading Dorie’s blog and the comments, it seems that it’s best to keep mixing the dough until big, moist curds form. Then, continue kneading by hand if necessary to get the dough to moisten evenly and to hold together when pressed. If you don’t manage to roll the dough into a solid log on the first try, continue kneading and try again. The consensus seems to be that as long as you can push the dough together into a solid piece to bake, the cookies come out fine.
- Another note from Food52 about the dough: “If measuring flour and cocoa by volume, it’s important to measure them lightly, as follows: stir briefly in the container or bag, spoon into the measuring cup until it’s heaped above the rim, then level it with a straight-edged knife or spatula. If you dip the measuring cup into the container, you’ll have more flour and cocoa and a drier, crumblier, more difficult dough.” Personally, I’ve now graduated to using a scale and measuring all ingredients by weight, so maybe this is partly why I ended up with a moist dough.
- Relatedly, when I cut the cookies, they definitely cracked, and bits broke off. However, I just squished the pieces back together, and everything was fine.
- You really want to pay close attention to baking times and temperatures here. The lower third of my oven runs hot, and when I baked my first batch, the cookies on the lower rack were just on the edge of burnt. I rescued them just in the nick of time, but I raised both of my oven racks after that, and the second batch of cookies came out with a distinctly crumblier, more delicate consistency. So pay attention to hot spots in your oven and adjust accordingly.
- I used Endangered Species 72% dark chocolate, on the recommendation of Stella Parks. Use the best quality dark chocolate for extra luscious cookies.
- The recipe calls for light brown sugar, but I used dark brown sugar because that’s what I had, and it seemed to be okay.
And, that’s it! I brought these to a park BBQ, and they were lauded as “brownie cookies.” Whatever you call them, they taste amazing!
World Peace Cookies
Source: Everyday Dorie, or Dorie's Cookies (by Dorie Greenspan)
Makes about 36 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (170 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (28 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Dutch cocoa; you can also use regular)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons; 5 1/2 ounces; 155 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup (134 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 5 ounces (142 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped into irregular sized bits
Instructions
-
Sift together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda.
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium speed until fluffy, light, and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the salt and vanilla and beat to combine. Turn off the mixer, add all the dry ingredients and start mixing on the lowest setting to prevent flour from flying everywhere. Turn the mixer up a few notches, and mix until the dough forms big, moist curds. Add the chopped chocolate pieces and mix to incorporate.
-
Turn the dough out onto a work surface (I turned it out directly onto a sheet of plastic wrap) and gather it together, kneading it if necessary to bring it together. Divide the dough in half. Shape the dough into logs that are about 1 1/2 inches in diameter by 9 inches in length. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and freeze them for at least 2 hours or refrigerate them for at least 3 hours.
Note: The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you don't need to defrost it before baking; just bake the cookies 1 minute longer.
-
To Bake: Preheat oven to 325°F and place racks in center of oven or away from any known hot spots. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
-
Using a long, sharp knife, slice each log of dough into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. If the rounds crack as you’re cutting them, just squeeze the broken pieces back together. Place the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them. If you need to bake in two batches, refrigerate the remaining cookies until you're ready to bake.
-
Bake the cookies for 12 minutes. Don’t open the oven, just let them bake. When time is up, the cookies won’t look done, and will still be soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minute until they've firmed up slightly, then use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Eat the cookies warm, or at room temperature (the texture is arguably more interesting at room temperature).