Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies: World Peace Cookies

I've been craving chocolate. I guess I should say I've been craving chocolate, chocolate. Like something really chocolaty. Something dark, rich, and decadent. And these salted dark chocolate cookies with dark chocolate chunks are the perfect solution.

While these cookies may not look like much, each one is intensely chocolate with a subtle, but still noticeable, salty finish.

The best part is that these salted dark chocolate cookies are so easy to make. You can whip up a batch with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.  Then store the unbaked batter in the freezer, and slice and bake them whenever you're craving something witha big chocolaty punch.

The recipe for these cookies is from Dorie Greenspan's James Beard Foundation award winning cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours. She named them World Peace Cookies because her neighbor was convinced that if everyone had a batch of these, it would spread happiness and peace around the globe. Unfortunately, as world peace continues to elude us, at least we have a rich, dark, sweet and salty cookie to keep our tummies happy and our chocolate cravings satisfied.

 

Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies: World Peace Cookies

This recipe is slightly adapted from Dorie Greenspan's World Peace Cookies which can be found in her book Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Dutch processed cocoa and felt it created a darker, richer chocolate flavor)

1/2 tsp baking soda

11 tbs unsalted butter at room temperature

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. fleur de sel (you can substitute this with 1/4 tsp fine sea salt)

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

 

Instructions

In a medium bowl, sift the all-purpose flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter with a paddle attachment until it is light and creamy. Add both of the sugars, salt, and vanilla and beat for about 2 more minutes.

Turn the mixer off, and add the dry ingredients all at once. When turning the mixer back on, mix on the lowest speed to prevent the dry ingredient from flying out of the bowl. You can even drape a kitchen towel loosely over the mixing bowl to prevent the dry ingredients from spilling out of the bowl as you mix the dry ingredients into the batter. Mix until the ingredients are just combined. The less you mix this batter, the better.

Add the chocolate pieces, and mix only to combine. The dough may be crumbly, which is completely fine.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Gather it into one large ball, and divide it in half. Roll each half into a log that is about 1 1/2 inch in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to 3 days. The dough can also be frozen for up to 2 moths. (If you freeze the cookie dough, slice it when still frozen. Add an additional 1 minute to the bake time to compensate for the cold dough).

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Using a sharp, thin knife, slice the dough into rounds that are about 1/2 an inch thick. The dough may crumble as you slice it. If that happens, simply mold the slice back together with your fingertips.

Arrange the sliced dough on a metal backing tray lined with a silicone mat or a piece of parchment paper. Place the cookies about 1 inch apart.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time. Bake for 12 minutes. The cookies will still look raw when finished baking, but remove them from the oven immediately. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. (The baking time of these cookies is extremely important. If they are over baked, their texture will be ruined, and the cookie with be sandy and crumbly. When baked the correct amount of time, the cookies will be rich and dense.) The cookies can be served when warm or at room temperature.

Yields about 3 dozen cookies.

 

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