TWD: World Peace Cookies

I first made the World Peace Cookies right before Christmas. I was mailing off cookie packages to relatives and wanted to include them in the assortment. I had read numerous rave reviews about these cookies around the food blogosphere -- they are kind of legendary here in food cyberspace. They looked easy to make. I had everything I needed except for fleur de sel. Imagine my complete lack of shock when they did not have fleur de sel in Publix. I ended up going with Morton's Fine Sea Salt instead.

Morton's Fine Sea Salt: When Only the Second Best Will Do.



I later looked for fleur de sel at Whole Foods, and examined every last spice container on aisle 4 before finally concluding that Whole Foods did not have it either. I think our local Whole Foods buyers must have just said "Look, this is a total middle-market city. Can't even attract a Crate & Barrel. Zero chance of landing the 2020 Olympics, even though the crazy-ass mayor is trying. The promoters didn't even send all of the real Wiggles last time the Wiggles tour came through town! They don't need the fancy salt. And while we're at it, scratch the red lentils off the list, too."

So I've had to make do with Morton's Fine Sea Salt (Morton's Fine Sea Salt: Too Fine to be Abbreviated), but these cookies still amaze me every time that I make them. And of all of the cookies that I mailed off, the World Peace Cookies are the ones that got mentioned by name the most, and in reverential, hushed tones at that.

I had a helper when I made these the most recent time.


Making this dough is easy as can be. Okay, you do have to sift the flour and cocoa together. But if I've learned anything since I started blogging, it is that if you complain about something enough on the internet, people will start throwing things your way just to get you to shut up already. I once griped about how tedious it is to sift flour through a sieve, and like magic, my great friend Lisa sent me this sweet sifter:

and David's awesome parents sent me this über-cool one:

Y'all are the best! Now that I have the right tools, sometimes I'll just go sift things when I find myself with ten free minutes. It's just that much fun when you are properly equipped! And even though you've created deep incentives for me to become an insufferable online complainer, I will try to keep it in check. Juicing citrus fruit by hand really does make me insane, though.

Spooked by salmonella? Have we got the dough for you! There are no eggs in World Peace Cookie dough, so you can nosh with abandon.


I doubled the recipe when I made these, and I will always double the recipe when I make these. One, because the recipe just doesn't really make that many cookies, when you get right down to it. And two, because this dough freezes so well, it just makes good sense to keep an extra log or two in the freezer for those moments when a psychotic chocolate/Morton's Fine Sea Salt craving strikes. Or is that just me?

Dorie says that you can slice these straight from the freezer, but I find that they cut much more easily and cleanly if you let the dough sit in the fridge or on the counter for 10 minutes or so before trying to slice them. Also, my previous attempts to cut through very frozen things have not ended well for my fingers, so I am really trying to change the way I do business this year.

The recipe says to cut them 1/2 inch thick, but I tend to cut them thinner than that. Maybe 1/4 inch? I find that the wonderfully crumbly texture comes through a little bit more when they are thinner. But I won't turn my nose up at a thick one, either, believe you me.

These don't spread, so go ahead and cram them onto your cookie sheet:



And in a mere 12 (13 if straight from the freezer!) minutes, you will be experiencing pure cookie bliss. If this is the first time you've had a World Peace Cookie, you won't be quite sure what just happened, but you'll know that it was something big. You will be moved to jump onto your blackberry immediately and shoot your friends messages like the one that Lisa sent me last week:

************
Subject: World Peace!

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with Dorie! Oh my God these cookies are incredible! Hillary should bring a plate to every summit.

This is why I love my blackberry....for really important messages like this.
************

Or the note that Amanda left on my Wall on Facebook right after she made them:

************
The World Peace Cookies changed my life. I'm not kidding. I really think I'm a better person because I ate some . . .
************

Now that I've made them a few times, I'm able to hold myself together when I take a bite, but just barely. The secret to the fabulousness of the World Peace cookies lies in their surprise saltiness, brought to you courtesy of Morton's Fine Sea Salt, and their irresistible crumbly texture. The chocolate doesn't hurt, either. Honestly, when you read through the list of ingredients, you would never be able to predict that these cookies will be so utterly amazing. But something magical happens in the oven. It doesn't make any sense. But we live in a world where Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen run a multi-gazillion dollar multi-media empire. Not everything makes sense.

The World Peace Cookies were chosen by my bloggy friend Jess from Cookbook Habit. Jess lives in Connecticut, and her posts are always super fun for me to read, both because of her natural wit, and because she will sometimes say things like "Stop & Shop" which makes me feel warmly nostalgic for my home state. Run-don't-walk to Jess's blog for the recipe. Jess, thank you for picking the greatest cookie ever!