World Peace Cookies
Successful Stampede party last night, which the dishwasher is still working on the last remains of. I’m sure the house won’t be back in order yet (which suggests it ever was) by the time we leave for Tofino next weekend, but we may make enough from bottle returns to pay for our trip. Luckily, last week I was the big winner of the CBC beer pool – every summer, everyone who wants to play brings in a 6-pack of interesting beer. I went home with 23 of them. It was a Stampede miracle.
We paid homage to the midway with homemade corn dogs, mini donuts and churros, and added something new to the menu: taco in a bag. This was last year’s midway newbie – a bag of zesty cheese Doritos, cut open in the front as if it were one of those mini boxes of cereal you used to take camping when you were a kid, and topped with a spoonful of seasoned ground beef (I sautéed mine with onions, garlic, chili powder and cumin), some neon cheese sauce (Mike talked me into letting him buy a 1 kg jar of Whiz, which we microwaved, and I must admit it worked perfectly – taco in a bag doesn’t have the same gross-out factor made with homemade cheese sauce started with a roux), shredded lettuce, salsa and sour cream. You then eat it however you can manage – with a fork, your fingers; towards the end of the night I saw someone close up the bag, mash it up with his hands and then upend the contents into his mouth.
We plowed through 48 tacos in a bag (although I suspect some of the kids were just eating the chips), somewhere in the vicinity of 70 corn dogs (they were gone before 8pm) and double batches of churros and mini donuts, doused in buckets of cinnamon sugar. And as I was calculating just how many people might show up (and remembering how warm mini donuts have in the past been received like a swarm of locusts, I made a quick batch of World Peace Cookies, which I had needed an excuse to make; plus, logs of dark chocolate dough in the fridge ready to pull out, slice and bake and serve warm while people milled about seemed like a really good idea. We went through all three, obviously, except for a small stump of one I found in the fridge this morning, which after coming home from the Stampede I sliced, baked and devoured warm on the couch.
(Dinner itself was roasted chick peas with garlic and chard. I love that stuff. Mike does too – so much so that he suggested we choose a night of the week and actually implement RCPWG&C night, like meatloaf night. Are we getting old?) Here is the original recipe – I have since streamlined it to just roasting a rinsed, drained 19 oz. can of chick peas in my cast iron skillet with lots of olive oil and whole cloves of garlic at 450°F until golden, then tearing up most of a large bunch of chard, ribs removed, and adding it to the pan on the stovetop with salt and pepper. Add a splash of liquid if you like, lid it for about 10 minutes to help it wilt. So much better than the sum of its parts.
Honestly, these very nearly brought tears to my eyes; I highly recommend making them for anyone who needs cheering up or impressing. I don’t know the origins of the recipe’s name, but I was certainly at peace, until there came to be only one left and I got all panicky that they were almost gone and I might not have them again for awhile. So I plotted taking a stash of dough to Tofino, which would be a very bad idea considering my past record of cookie dough consumption during late-night games of Scrabble.
Not quite as heavy as shortbread, with the texture of a sable and flavour of a brownie (I brought out my Bernard Callebaut cocoa for this one); adapted from Paris Sweets, by Dorie Greenspan, by way of SmittenKitchen. I doubled the recipe because it’s exactly the same amount of work to mix up twice the amount of dough, and why wouldn’t you when it gets shaped into logs and shuffled into the fridge to slice and bake later anyway? You never know when you’re going to need to pull out the troops to help settle the unrest.
World Peace Cookies
AuthorJulie
In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa and baking powder; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars for a few minutes, until nice and light. Add the salt and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes more.
Add the flour mixture and stir by hand or beat on low speed just until it starts to come together; add the chocolate and stir or beat just until everything is incorporated.
Turn the dough out onto the counter, gather it into a ball or rough log, and divide it into three pieces. Shape each piece into a log that's roughly 1 1/2 iinches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or freeze for up to 4 months. (You don’t even need to defrost it before baking — just slice frozen logs and bake as you normally would.)
Place a rack in middle of the oven and preheat it to 325°F. Cut the logs into 1/2-inch slices with a sharp knife (if they crack, just squeeze them back together) and arrange onto a baking sheet (no need to spray or line it), spacing them about an inch apart.
Bake for 12 minutes - they won't be firm, and it will be hard to tell if they're done, because they're so dark. Don't sweat it. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer them to a wire rack. Eat warm, or cool completely.
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.
Makes lots.
Ingredients
Directions
In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa and baking powder; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars for a few minutes, until nice and light. Add the salt and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes more.
Add the flour mixture and stir by hand or beat on low speed just until it starts to come together; add the chocolate and stir or beat just until everything is incorporated.
Turn the dough out onto the counter, gather it into a ball or rough log, and divide it into three pieces. Shape each piece into a log that's roughly 1 1/2 iinches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or freeze for up to 4 months. (You don’t even need to defrost it before baking — just slice frozen logs and bake as you normally would.)
Place a rack in middle of the oven and preheat it to 325°F. Cut the logs into 1/2-inch slices with a sharp knife (if they crack, just squeeze them back together) and arrange onto a baking sheet (no need to spray or line it), spacing them about an inch apart.
Bake for 12 minutes - they won't be firm, and it will be hard to tell if they're done, because they're so dark. Don't sweat it. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer them to a wire rack. Eat warm, or cool completely.
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.
Makes lots.
While the chickpeas didn’t go over well with my hubby (well, not as a main dish, at any rate), I absolutely *adore* it myself. It’s funny how the older I get, the less I’m finding I need to eat meat of any sort – or, in other words, vegetarian/vegan meals don’t bother me like they used to. Hey, I’ll take it …
Wow — your party sounds so good and so fun! My hubby hates cooked greens, but he’s promised to try them just once, and the recipe above maybe just the one to convert him! I’m looking forward to making the cookies for a bake sale in a couple of weeks! They look too good and too decadent to have in the house.
I notice that there are no eggs in the batter, and I’m assuming that you used regular (not dutch processed) cocoa powder?
23 assorted six packs? Now that sounds like an instant party! My husband would love to win that prize!
These cookies are fantastic…. which leaves me wondering at the name “World Peace Cookies”, because I certainly would be willing to die for one 😉
Greenspan originally called these “Korova cookies”, after the restaurant for which Pierre Hermé created them. However, she apparently renamed them World Peace cookies after her neighboured convinced her that sharing this cookies on a daily basis could lead to universal peace and happiness.
Ah – thanks! I’m sure a quick Google search would have answered that question, but by last night, after the fireworks, I was so tired I could hardly see straight…
Julie – just to ease my curiosity; could you run this cookie recipe through your nutrition analysis program? It may help with my portion control problem! TYVM
freeze-and-bake cookies are pretty fantastic, especially if you don’t like desserts (or like them too much!) and find yourself entertaining frequently.
Thanks for posting the quickie chickpea recipe; I’m thinking that, together with a homemade sausage, this would be a super-fantastic (and nominally healthy) meal.
Julie I made your strawberry-rhubarb cake cobbler, it is delicious!
I was going to send two pieces to my in-laws-neighbors but the kids want to keep it all!
Now I’m planning on making those cookies in the near future, and I’m sure my son will love to help me make them, as he loves helping me make your recipes, he says that they are always very delicious.
So thanks Julie, for another hit recipe…but now I just have to figure out how many calories that piece of cake was!
Hey by the way, we are sending my in-laws away on a trip on a train to Edmonton in August, for the 50th anniversary, they are staying for a month with friends and we are sending lots of maple products with them on the train.
Have a good week!
MFO 🙂
The Dieticians of Canada website has a wonderful recipe analyzer tool. I use it all the time. http://www.dietitians.ca/public/content/eat%5Fwell%5Flive%5Fwell/english/eatracker/
Also, a Google search says that the original recipe (half of the above recipe), makes 36 cookies. 90 Cals, 5g of fat, 11g of carbs.
This is totally off the subject, but have you found this neat bulk store in Southland Crossing?? I came across it a few days ago, it has all the things anyone would need in bulk, spices,flours,nuts etc, you can bring your own containers to fill and the prices are great!! weight2go.ca
Yes – did a show on them on CBC awhile ago. Great people, and great products! I keep meaning to mention the place here.. can’t remember if I have or not!
Cookies of any sort would bring peace to a neighbourhood – unless you have my neighbour. She’s fricken’ bloody North Korea and Iran rolled together.
Ohm, I’m baking tonight anyway.
Thanks Carolyn! 🙂
i don’t think that RCPWG&C night is ‘old’ behaviour. old is someone who just bought a stick blender and is trying to figure out what she can blend, every single meal, so she can stoke that baby up is old.
no names mentioned.
Mustard Green Overload! We’ve been away for a week and come back home to find our planting of mustard greens (an experiment this year) have gone insane. We’ve missed the little tender greens that would be good in salad and gone straight to the mature ones.
Any suggestions?
Carolyn – yes isn’t that a great tool? I just wish their analysis included a breakdown of fat – saturated, mono and polyunsaturated.
And no – no eggs in the recipe.
Oh, those cookies look utterly delicious. Great ingredients. And the beans n greens are also a fave. Lovely.
oh those cookies look scrumptious! cant wait till the rain comes to have an excuse to make those babies!
jenn
Well Julie, you said you were going to try it w/ chard (instead of spinach) and here it is. Looks great.
Those cookies look fantastic.
So the question now, is when are you going to give food photography lessons. 🙂
Walking tacos are so good…yummmm. Here in Iowa they’re a good summer snack at sporting events and picnics! :o)
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