World Peace Cookies

Last week I saw an email from Susan of She's Becoming DoughMessTic about Operation GALS. She was looking to see if others would be interested in sending goodies to soldiers in Iraq. You can read about it on her site.

I jumped right in and wanted to help out. I have known people who have been over in Iraq and thought it would be great to be a part of this.

Then, life happened. I ended up out of town for 3 days and my first day back, I had one thing after another happening that was putting me down. I didn't have time to post in time. BUT, I made the cookies and they are now on their way to Corporal Jason Ballard. Jason, I hope you enjoy the cookies I made for you!

I decided what better cookie to send than the World Peace Cookies from Dorie Greenspan's Baking cookbook. So, I made a batch and sent them off to Jason. Below are a few photos of the cookies. I hope the guys over there enjoy them with the rest of their goodies they will be receiving!

These cookies were so easy to make. The recipe is as follows:

1-¼ cups flour
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
⅔ cup (packed) light brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon fleur de sel or ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous ¾ cup store bought mini chocolate chips

To mix, I did the following:

I put the flour, cocoa, and baking soda into a bowl and mixed well to combine. Next, put the softened butter in your standing mixer (or use a hand mixer) and beat the butter on medium until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract, and beat 2 minutes more.

Turn off the mixer and pour in the dry ingredients. I started slowly so flour did not fly everywhere, then once it was incorporated, I continued to mix until the flour disappeared into the dough. Next you toss in the chocolate (I used the mini chips). I have also mixed in some of the Kraft Caramel Bits - which is a nice addition - and sprinkled some grey sea salt on top. Bake at 325 for 12 minutes.

Shape into two logs that are 1-½" in diameter. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. You can freeze dough for up to 2 months. If you freeze the dough, you don't need to defrost before baking, just slice and bake the cookies for 13 minutes instead.