MAKES 4 DOZEN 2-INCH COOKIES
If you’ve been near a food magazine or website within the past several years, then you’re probably familiar with the glory that is the World Peace Cookie, a recipe originally from the incomparable pastry chef Pierre Hermé, popularized by the wonderful baker and writer Dorie Greenspan. It’s a perfect, sweet-salty, buttery little gem that has you carving a divot into your kitchen floor as you walk back and forth from the cookie jar.
I wanted to give that awesome cookie a natural-sugars spin, a World Peace Cookie 2.0 if you will, with even more chocolaty depth. This recipe bolsters the cocoa with the nuttiness of whole wheat pastry flour and browned butter and the dark richness of muscovado sugar.
This recipe is pictured here.
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4¾ ounces/135 grams) whole wheat pastry flour, spooned and leveled
⅓ cup (1⅛ ounces/33 grams) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup (1 stick/4 ounces/113 grams) unsalted butter, browned and chilled (see How to Brown Butter)
⅔ cup (5¼ ounces/150 grams) firmly packed dark muscovado sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon whole milk
6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet chocolate (60% to 70% cacao), chopped into ¼-inch bits
1. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
2. Scrape the solid browned butter (and all those tasty browned bits from the edges!) into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until fluffy and much lighter in color, about 3 minutes—the appearance will start out with the dark sugar dominating but over the beating time will transform into something looking like a brown-speckled buttercream frosting. Beat in the egg yolk, then the milk.
3. Reduce the mixer speed to the lowest setting and stir in the dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate bits and mix until the dough first comes together and then pulls off the sides of the bowl in 3 or 4 large sections, about 1 minute. Gather the sections and divide the dough in half. Line a work surface with a sheet of plastic wrap. Form half the dough into a log about 7 inches long and 1¼ inches in diameter, using the plastic wrap to help you form it. Wrap the dough log tightly. Shape and wrap the second half of the dough. Chill in the refrigerator until very firm, about 3 hours.
4. When you’re ready to bake, position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 325˚F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Using a thin, sharp knife, slice each log of dough into twenty-four ¼-inch-thick cookies. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, 2 dozen cookies per sheet. Bake until the edges are set, but the centers of the cookies are still very soft, about 12 minutes—don’t overbake! They won’t look done but will firm up as they cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets set over wire racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
TIP: The dough logs can be frozen for up to 6 months.