Korova Sables

Chocolate!! I just finished a cinnamon latte and two of these melt-in-your-mouth cookies for a Sunday afternoon treat. Yummm! These buttery sables are intensely chocolaty with a hint of salt--the perfect combination. As you can tell from previous posts, I am a huge Dorie Greenspan fan. Her recipes consistently are wonderful and are very easy to follow and reproduce. This was my first recipe from her Paris Sweets cookbook--delicious and so simple! The dough for these cookies is rolled into a log, refrigerated, sliced, and baked, making them a great candidate for holiday baskets. I love sweets that I can make ahead and keep in the freezer or refrigerator to pop in the oven when I'm ready for them. These are going on my list for Christmas cookies! Continue for recipe.

Korova Sables
Paris Sweets: Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry Shops
Dorie Greenspan (adapted from Pierre Herme)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 stick + 3 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 t fine sea salt (or 1/2 t fleur de sel)
1 t vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small bits (I used 1 3.5 oz. bar and it was great--in a pinch, use chocolate chips.)

Sift the flour, cocoa, and baking soda together. Set aside.
With your paddle attachment (or by hand), beat butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla and beat for another minute.
Add dry ingredients and mix only until incorporated. The dough will be crumbly. You want to mix the dough as little as possible for the best texture.
Add the chocolate pieces and mix.
Turn the dough out onto the counter and squeeze it so that it sticks together in large clumps. Divide the dough in half and shape into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. (They can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 1 month).
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
With a sharp knife, slice the logs into 1/2 inch thick rounds and place on the cookie sheet, leaving 1 inch in between cookies.
Baking only one sheet at a time, bake for 12 min. The cookies will not look or feel done, but that is how they're supposed to be.
Transfer the sheet to a cooling rack and cool until warm.

Yield: 36 cookies

**If using frozen dough, you don't need to defrost it before baking--just slice the logs and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.
**Try adding toasted pecans, craisins, and/or a pinch of cinnamon for a different twist.