Korova Cookies
A chocolate sablé, a French shortbread cookie. A one-two bite chocolate nibble of an unassumingly delicious cookie, also known as the World Peace cookie, and brought back to fame by Parisian baker and chocolatier extraordinaire Pierre Hermé. The name speaks to the name of the milk bar in Stanley Kubrick’s classic film A Clockwork Orange, and it was also the name of a restaurant off the Champs Elysées for which Pierre Hermé created the cookies. While the restaurant is no longer open, Pierre Hermé continues to be known and makes these delciious treats for his shops.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup flour - Bob's Red Mill for Cookies is my preference
- 1/3 cup top quality unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked Saigon cinnamon or use traditional cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 5 1/2 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp fleur de sel for the batter
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt - Maldon is my favorite for sprinkling on top of each cookie just before it goes in the oven.
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 5 ounces chocolate - high quality - the type is your choice chop into small bites - I used dark chocolate, but you can use bittersweet or semi-sweet
Instructions
- Make the batter
- Shift the dry ingredients together and set aside: flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda.
- Using a hand-mixer or a stand-up mixer, cream the butter with the sugars on medium speed until creamy. Add the vanilla, cinnamon and the salt to this mixture as well.
- Turning the speed down to low, add gradually the dry, sifted ingredients until incorporated but not over-mixed. The dough will be a bit crumbling, not uniformily so, and that is perfect for moist texture.
- Add the chocolate pieces and mix just until evenly distributed.
Refrigerate and cool
- You will have enough dough to make two separate rolls of cookie dough. Divide the dough in half and elongate into a circular log on top of parchment paper. Roll each tightly, tie the ends with a string, and label the parchment with the name of the cookie, the temperature at which you will want to cook it and the time in the oven for baking.
- I place one roll in the refrigerator as I want to enjoy it the day I have made the batter, and place the second one in the freezer.
- Refrigerator - refrigerate for 1 hour before baking. Freezer - when you remove the dough, you do not need to defrost it. Simply cut into 1/2" slices, place on a cooking sheet lined with parchment and cook as per the instructions below, adding one minute (but no more!).
Baking
- Remove the refrigerated cookie dough. Slice into 1/2" rounds and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with flaky sea salt. Bake for 12 minutes (check at 10 minutes) as you want the cookie to look not entirely cooked as they are meant to be a bit soft and gooey. :)
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit (I have reduced this temperature for my new convection stove - 335-340).
- Let them sit for just a minute or two and enjoy!