In the world of food blogging, Pierre Herme's Sables Korova, renamed World Peace Cookies by Dorie Greenspan, are somewhat legendary. If you don't believe me, take a look through the google or flickr results.
Since so many people have described the addictive qualities of these indulgent, chocolate-studded, teasingly salty cookies, i'm going to spend more time talking about making them rather than eating them.
The nice thing about making a widely tried recipe is you can see the differences in others' results. I don't know about you, but I find photographic evidence of cookie diversity very comforting when a recipe doesn't turn out as expected.
I got a little impatient and baked a few cookies before the dough was thoroughly chilled. This batch yielded flat cookies that spread a little strangely. They looked a little like this. The photos above are from day two, when I sliced the well-chilled dough a little thicker.
In addition to temperature and size, ingredient distribution also effects these cookies. I'd suggest using very soft butter; cold butter doesn't incorporate as quickly, or as well. I had to mix my dough longer than i'd have liked, and my finished dough wasn't exactly homogenous. Foodbeam is a good blog for browsing photos and comments on sable technique.
Shaping the dough into logs takes a little practice too- I think this is a case where I would have liked to compress the logs in parchment paper, using the technique on page 185 of The Simple Art of Perfect Baking. I'll upend the dough onto some parchment, gently knead/shape it into a rough log, and then use the parchment and a straight-edged cookie sheet or dough scraper to shape it into a nicer circle.
You can view the recipe here. It's also been printed in Dorie Greenspan's Paris Sweets and Baking From my Home to Yours. The cookies were a hit at work, and I think they'd be an elegant addition to a holiday cookie box. You can freeze the logs ahead of time and bake them as needed.
8 comments:
The cookies look absolutely delicious!!
I wish I could have one right now!
:)
I've been curious about this recipe, especially because it has that sweet-salty thing going on. Looks really great!
I am sitting here drooling....Oh man, too bad I missed them at SIS today!
Yum! World peace never tasted so good.
I've always loved these cookies, but have had quite a difficult time shaping them. I think yours look perfect!
I love your blog! I have come to love Dorie Greenspan as well... thanks for all the tips... I found the book you mentioned (art of perfect baking)... thanks!!
I've made these cookies twice. The first time they were perfectly sable-y: sandy, melting, just exquisite. I made them again for thanksgiving and they came out a lot like your first batch. Tasty, but not the same. The spread-out version just loses something. Not as melty. The only thing I did differently the second time was I left the dough in the frig for a day or two before baking. The first time I chilled them for not nearly long enough per recipe: only a half-hour or so.
Your cookies look great good job!
Post a Comment