{TWD} Let there be Peace on Earth ...and let it begin with cookies!

We sang two songs at my eighth grade graduation: "Let There Be Peace On Earth" (and let it begin with me) and "I Believe" (for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows...) From that day I've always had a soft spot in my heart for both, but I must say that my husband does not. As a plebe at the Naval Academy, each time he started a sentence with the words "I believe," an upperclass midshipman would make him sing the song! Come to think of it I wonder if we may have been singing the song at the exact same time, since he was a plebe the same year I was in eighth grade.

I have to say that when I saw the recipe for World Peace Cookies was the chosen TWD recipe for this week, I was thrilled. Not the "Oh, boy I've been waiting to bake these and now they've been chosen" thrilled, but the "Oh, my, I'm busier than I've been in a long while, and I've already baked these, and I already have a draft post in the works" thrilled! And when I say "I've already baked these," I mean that these cookies have been baked in my kitchen - several times - mostly by my daughters, but that I had the presence of mind to photograph them with my camera. In fact, it was daughter J.D.E. who found the recipe for us; you can see her cooking World Peace cookies in the picture over there in the right sidebar.

There's a reason that we've baked these so many times, and once you try this recipe (which you can find on page 138-139 of Dorie's book Baking From My Home to Yours. or on Jessica of cookbookhabit's blog post) you too will no doubt add these cookies to your repeat list.

cook's notes:

This will likely go on record as my shortest TWD post. We've followed the recipe precisely to the letter each time. One time the cookies spread, and I think it's because the girls were horsing around while they were slicing cookies from the logs and putting them on the cookie sheets, and the cookies sat around for a few extra minutes and got a bit warm. If you have similar goings-on in your kitchen, I'd recommend that you re-chill the cut cookies before baking them. They really are nifty when they retain that fat sliced-slab-of-cookie shape.

the verdict:

These are the best chocolate cookie I've ever eaten (much less baked). I usually like my cookies soft and chewy, but these are more sandy in texture. But still chewy! The salt is a great addition to the recipe. Luckily they are easy to whip up, and you could even keep a log of cookie dough in the freezer for later baking.

We've brought these cookies to several parties and gatherings, and they have always been a huge hit with everyone. One group calls them "the salty cookies" and another calls them "those peace cookies." No matter which other cookies I show up with now, I know that secretly (or not-so-secretly) people really are wishing I'd brought World Peace cookies.

And now that I'm writing this post and looking at my pictures of World Peace Cookies, I'm really wishing I had one to eat right about now. That would be the beginning of Peace. Right here with Me.

I Believe...