September 27, 2011

World Peace Cookies

It's been a while, my friends; but here I am again.  I have delicious cookies for you all this time!



These cookies, rightly named 'World Peace Cookies' are absolutely amazing - they have a rich, chocolatey, slightly salty taste and a delightful, slightly crunchy - slightly soft - slightly chewy texture.
I usually make a double batch of these, because more cookies are better.  And with the help of my brother, half of them end up disappearing as soon as they're baked.  Also, there are no eggs in the dough, so feel free to eat as much unbaked-cookie-goodness as you like!

Recipe Adapted From: Dorie Greenspan via Confessions of a Bake-A-Holic
Ingredients
143g butter
124g brown sugar
125g white sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence/extract
1 tsp salt (sea salt is recommended - add less or more depending on how salty you want the biscuits to be)
142g dark chocolate chips OR chopped chocolate chunks

194g flour
33g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Method
1. Beat the butter until it's soft and fluffy.  Since I'm used to margarine, if I'm planning to make something using real butter (like these cookies) I usually leave a block out on the kitchen bench overnight so it gets soft; it's very annoying to try and beat cold butter into submission.

2. Add the brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla essence and salt and beat until fluffy and light.



3. Add the flour, cocoa and baking soda.  Mix these dry ingredients into the batter.
If you're not using an electric mixer (e.g. a KitchenAid) for this, it's best to sift the cocoa powder so you don't get unmixed clumps of powder in your baked biscuits.



4. Mix in the chocolate chips.  Some kneading may be required to get the dough to come together.  Letting the KitchenAid work its magic was successful for me.



5. Divide the dough into a number of bits (if you're making a single batch, divide in half or in quarters if you're making a double batch).  Roll these blobs into nice, rounded logs and wrap them in cling wrap.  I don't measure the length of my logs, but 3.8cm/1.5 inches is suggested.

6. Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours.  When you're about ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 160 degrees C/325 F.

7. Cut the logs into 1 - 1.5cm rounds and place them on baking trays lined with baking paper/silicone mats or whatever you use.  Make sure there's quite a bit of space between them, they do spread a bit.  If your rounds are falling apart, just squish them back together.



Remember to eat all the off-cuts!


8. Bake for 11 - 12 minutes in the preheated oven.  The cookies will look cracked on the top, but they should still be soft to the touch.



9. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.  Or you could just eat them, because they're amazing when they're warm!