Last Wednesday was a very exciting day. Something arrived in the mail that would bring some much needed excitement and adventure into my baking-life. I practically ran all the way to the mail box, then ran all the way back to my apartment to open my precious parcel. I tore through the packaging, and there it was – in the bottom of the box – Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Oh joy! I sat there on my couch and read through the entire book like it was a novel. What a cookbook! The pictures are absolutely stunning and the description Dorie gives of each dessert – well, let's just say I was practically drooling. I went through with post-it notes and marked each recipe that I wanted to try. Needless to say, my book is crammed full of little yellow post-its now!

After careful consideration, I decided the first recipe I wanted to try was the World Peace Cookies - they sounded so unique and dainty. They were a breeze to make, and the results were delicious! A light, crunchy chocolate-chocolate chunk cookie (almost resembling a shortbread) that goes wonderfully with a glass of milk or your morning coffee. It was a nice break from the chewy, cakey cookies I'd been making so much of lately. As Dorie mentions in her description of the cookies, there's a strong salty taste in the cookie – its perfect for those of us who love the combination of salty and sweet! As I suspected, Dorie didn't let me down. I can't wait to dig deeper into her book and create lots more of these delicious desserts!

World Peace Cookies

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

2/3 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

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on a medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 more minutes. Turn off the mixer. Pour in the dry ingredients, drape a kitchen towel over the stand 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. If there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple 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 four 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 into logs that are 1 ½ 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, there's no need to 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. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a sharp, thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are ½ inch thick (the rounds are likely to crack as you slice them – don't be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto 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 or be firm, but that's 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.