CookieBar's World Peace Cookies

Ingredients

Cooking Directions

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together and keep close at hand.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until it is soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and the vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.

Turn off the mixer and add the flour. Drape a towel over the 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's 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 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.)

Getting ready to bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees 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 into 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.

Serving: The cookies can be eaten when they are warm or at room temperature – I prefer them at room temperature, when the textural difference between the crumbly cookie and the chocolate bits is greatest.

Storing: Packed airtight, cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Recipe courtesy of Dorie Greenspan. Adapted from "Baking From My Home to Yours," Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt),