Dorie Greenspan’s famous cookies are known as World Peace Cookies because they are so delicious. The dough is easy to make and the cookies bake up with a wonderful texture and rich chocolate flavor.
I always love trying out cookie recipes with interesting names. These chocolate cookies were published in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours, and she named them “World Peace Cookies” after her neighbor was convinced that eating these cookies could bring world peace and happiness.
I love chocolate, I love cookies and so a chocolate cookie that could bring world peace? Of course, I had to try them.
What are World Peace Cookies?
Dorie Greenspan’s world peace cookies are basically chocolate shortbread cookies that have chopped chocolate added to the dough. The dough is rolled into a log and then sliced to create round cookies.
Like I mentioned, her neighbor loved them so much she said they were the key to world peace and so that’s what Dorie ended up naming the cookie recipe.
Tips for Making Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
- You will want to plan ahead when you make these cookies because the dough needs to chill for at least three hours. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can make the dough up to three days in advance if you tightly wrap it and keep it in the refrigerator. Or, you can freeze the dough, too, for up to two months.
- Be sure your butter is softened before making the cookies. Otherwise, it will be very hard to beat the butter into a creamy texture, which is key in achieving the right texture for the cookies. The best way to soften butter is to leave it out at room temperature for several hours.
- You can use a handheld electric mixer to make the dough, but it’s even easier if you use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- When you add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, only mix long enough to incorporate the flour. You want to mix the dough as little as possible so that your cookies are tender. Overmixing the dough will make them tough.
- The dough may have a crumbly texture, which is fine. Once you roll it into logs it will stick together. As I mentioned, you will need to chill the dough for at least three hours.
- To slice the dough into rounds, use a thin, sharp knife. The chocolate chunks in the dough may cause it to fall apart a bit when you slice the dough, but if that happens just press the dough back together.
- Bake the cookies for 12 minutes. They will still be soft and might even look like they’re not quite done, but that’s the time to take them out of the oven. As they cool, they will continue to set. Once they’ve cooled down you can serve them warm or let them cool completely.
- Store the baked cookies in an airtight container.
If you like shortbread cookies, you might like my double chocolate shortbread, French yogurt cake, chocolate chip shortbread cookies and custard shortbread cookies, too.
World Peace Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 stick plus 3 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped into chips
Instructions
- Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.
- Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.
- Turn off the mixer. Pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, 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 a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
- Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch 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 1 inch between them.
- Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 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 let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.
Notes
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
These cookies are great! They’re very chewy and crumbly, and the batter tastes pretty good, too! They taste like Blue Bell’s chocolate ice cream!!
Hmm I never tried Blue Bell’s ice cream, but I agree the cookies are good. =)
It’s amazing what a title will do for you, but I was totally expecting to see a picture of a cookie with a tiara.