french fridays with dorie: cocoa sablés
One of my favorite cookies is Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies from her Baking cookbook.
When I saw Cocoa Sablés on this week’s French Fridays schedule, I assumed that we were making World Peace cookies. I’ve made them many times before and adore them. The AMFT version weren’t exactly a renamed version of the old favorite. They were more like a fraternal twin, and they did not disappoint.
I absolutely love the convenience of homemade slice-and-bake cookies. Stash them in the freezer, and you can have an instant snack on a whim.
This shortbread-like cookie comes together in the stand mixer easily. I accidentally rolled my logs much skinnier than Dorie did. They were a little over an inch, instead of a little under two inches. Honestly, this wasn’t deliberate. The type in the book is small, and even though it said 1¾ inch, I read 1¼. These cookies are rich, so my little coins (they were about the size of quarters) were the perfect size.
My book group came over this week, so I made these cookies as refreshments. The book we read, The Known World by Edward P. Jones, won the 2004 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. This beautifully-written novel about a black family of slave owners in antebellum Virginia told a wonderful, if disturbing, story. As always, we had a lively discussion, some of it related to the book, most of it not. The cookies got positive reviews. So did this lemony artichoke dip.
My yield was nothing like Dorie’s. She said the recipe would make 36 cookies. Granted, my rolls were skinnier. I shaped my dough into more than two rolls, not just because they were thinner, but because I find shorter rolls easier to handle. I baked about half the dough and got over 60 cookies. I plan to put the other rolls in the freezer for later.
I was short on time, so I didn’t coat the logs with egg and roll in sugar as suggested. I’ll have to try that variation when I bake the rolls from the freezer. I can imagine the effect will be pretty.
One thing that always trips me up when I make rolls of icebox cookies is how to store them while chilling or handle them while slicing so that one side doesn’t become flat. Hopefully, I’ll learn a new trick from one of the other participating bloggers’ posts. If you have some thoughts, please share!
To read about the other FFwD bloggers chocolatey experiences, check out their posts at French Fridays with Dorie. We don’t post the recipes, but you should treat yourself to this book. There are so many winning recipes, it’s worth it.
Posted on 23 March 2012, in Baking, Books, French Fridays with Dorie and tagged chocolate, cookies, dips, French Fridays with Dorie. Bookmark the permalink. 28 Comments.
A Plateful of Happiness 
Wow – 60 cookies! That’s a lot of sables :-)
My issue with storing logs in the refrigerator is how to find enough space to lay them flat…
Have a great weekend.
Wow, I got maybe 20 or 25 cookies. How did you do it? They look beautiful on the star plate. Mine were admittedly quite large!
I was lucky enough to be at said book group and wow the cookies were fabulous! Good thing I was sitting far away from the plate. But I was sitting close to the artichoke dip and that made me very happy. Thank you for posting that recipe, Betsy, I will definitely try making that.
My trick is to roll them in a slice of pita bread to hold them in the fridge and while you cook. But even with that trick mine don’t look as perfect as yours! Yum.
I halved the recipe and it also yielded a LOT of cookies. I’ve read somewhere that you should move your dough roll 1/4 or 1/8 turn before slicing to make sure the cookies come out completely round. Maybe someone can vouch for that.
I’m always looking out for new books to read. I’ve already had a sample of The Known World sent to my Kindle.
I didn’t do the sugar either, but I think they might be better without it!
I didn’t do the sugar coating too, and I loved it that way. My cookies were on the flat side after chilling and slicing, but once they came out of the oven, a majority of the sables looked pretty round. Maybe my oven did the final adjustment for me….haha, okay, maybe not!
I love the way your sables looked with the chocolate in it :)
Now that I think about it, I tried Dorie’s world peace cookies before, but they didn’t turn out as successfully as the classic sables I made. Your cookies look delicious!
Very sweet little cocoa sables, I like the small coin size shape. They are quite rich and would be wonderful in the small size. Your cookies with the pieces of chocolate look very tempting;-)
How the heck did you get 60 cookies?? Ha! They look great. I need to move these World Peace Cookies up on my agenda. For some reason, I imagined them as gooey cookies.
Lemony Artichoke dip….yum! Your sables look beautiful! Glad they were a hit with your book club. I will have to check out that book…sounds interesting. My rolls were about 2 inches in diameter….I think I got close to 40! My problem is I can’t eat just one! Loved these!
I’m not sure you were missing anything by not adding the sugar. I think that the sugar looks great on the regular sables, but it doesn’t really add anything to the chocolate ones in terms of looks. Or maybe it was just the color I picked.
Great post. I didn’t get to these this week, but they look yummy. I too like to have something in the freezer for a quick snack/dessert. Sounds like a great plan!
Less guilt with a smaller cookie. Yours look so delicious and perfect.
Great job.
Your sables are so beautiful, Betsy! I love that you can see all the bits of chocolate in them. I bet they were a hit at your book club. I have not read that book yet, but will have to add it to my reading list. I have found that they best way to store them when they are chilling is to put them (rolled up in plastic) in an empty paper towel tube. I brought a couple home from work because they are sturdier than the ones you buy for home use. It really works well.
These sables are so tasty – I love how ridiculously perfect their circles are ;)
Nice one :D
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Latest: Colossal Caramel Peanut Monster Cookies
I was going to check the world peace cook recipe to see if it was exactly the same, but I never got around to it. Hard to say which is the better cookie. I’d probably vote for whichever one I’d just eaten. I like the shot of the cookies in the star dish.
Betsy, I wish I could see your cookie next to the larger one. I actually think little 50-cent piece sablés would be fun to eat and serve —– by the handful. I haven’t read Jones’ book but just put it on my long and longer list-to-read. Nice Post.
I’ll have to try the World Peace cookies some time, I’ve heard so much about them over the years.
Your cookies look beautiful – I’m not sure the sugar step is all that necessary, but it does look nice and gives them an extra-crisp edge.
Perfectly done, Betsy! I had the flat side, too, but one of our Doristas said to put the rolled dough into a paper towel tube to chill :) We read that book for our book club a few years back…it made for great discussion. I need to check out your artichoke dip~
I read The Known World, too! Very good and, yes, a bit disturbing as well. Have you read A Train in Winter? Not a feel-good story but true history.
How nice to have these sables for your reading group. That lemony artichoke dip sounds yummy, too.
What a nice treat for your book club. I miss my book my book group in Ca, I’ll check out your recommendation, sounds good.
Your cookies look great! I have to check out the World Peace Cookies!
I think this recipe is pretty flexible – and I think yours look great.
More than that, I was taken by the fact that this is my month to choose the book for my book club & I also chose a book about slavery in VA, “The Kitchen House,” by Kathleen Grissom. And it’s my turn to host on the 2nd. We normally meet at a restaurant, but I wanted to cook for everyone – which is a bit of a challenge with the limits set by what some of the ladies have given up for Lent. But I’m thinking of trying your Lemony Artichoke dip, too.
Thanks for the inspiration – and, I’ll have to check out your book.
World Peace Cookies are a favorite at my house with their simple chocolaty goodness. These are good too, but I think I like the small differences in the peace version. Anyway, these are really good and yours look perfect. It’s fun to share these with friends. Well done.
Your cookies look great! I think the smaller size was probably better, these cookies are so rich! I will have to look at the World Peace Cookies and make them.
I have the same problem with having a flat side on my roll of cookie dough. Your cookies look great, and I’m happy to hear you had a book group to share them with!
Your cookies look perfectly round! I read somewhere that it helps to store them in the tube from a roll of paper towels, but I didn’t roll mine thin enough to fit. For some reason I think I liked the World Peace cookies better than these, but maybe it’s just my memory…Glad you enjoyed these!