Of body sculpting & Korova cookies......

Am off to attend the launch of a non-surgical/machine-assisted body sculpting procedure held at a local medical center here this afternoon but why oh why have I got these cookies on my mind???



I first came across these cookies while sourcing for recipes during ramadhan. Of all the blogs I visited that had postings on this recipe, all touted it to be one of their favourite/their ultimate favourite cookie of all time. Now with those kind of rave reviews, I just had to rise to the occasion and try them out, didn't I? And I was over the moon that I did because judging from the whoops of ecstasy that flew out the mouths of 'my babes' and their dad with each bite; now could I not be? I was under strict orders to not serve these yummy morsels to guests when they came a-visiting for Raya but to save it all for themkidselves!! I kid you not. Now why do you think with all that exercising/dieting that I've undertaken and with one of those body-sculpting clinics looming on the horizon am I still dreaming of these cookies?? Like some say with one bite it's "die now and go straight to cookie heaven!"
This recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook, Paris Sweets. And if you're wondering why it's named Korova, here's Ms Greenspan's explanation -"Korova was the name of the milk bar in Stanley Kubrick's classic film A Clockwork Orange. It was also the name of a restaurant off the Champs-Élysées for which Pierre Hermé created these cookies. The restaurant is gone, but the cookies are still a specialty at Pierre's patisserie as well as the house cookies at my house."

I read somewhere that these cookies were later renamed World Peace Cookies.

Sablés Korova
(Korova Cookies)

convert		Ingredients
1 1/4 cups		all-purpose flour
1/3 cup		Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon		baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons		unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup)		packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup		granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon		fleur de sel, or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon		pure vanilla extract
5 ounces		bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small bits

1 . Sift the flour, cocoa, and baking soda together and keep close at hand. Put the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until the butter is soft and creamy. (Alternatively, you can do this and all subsequent steps by hand, working with a sturdy rubber spatula.) Add both sugars, the salt, and vanilla extract and beat for another minute or two. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the sifted dry ingredients. Mix only until the dry ingredients are incorporated — the dough will look crumbly, and that's just right. For the best texture, you want to work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

2. Turn the dough out onto a smooth work surface and squeeze it so that it sticks together in large clumps. Gather the dough into a ball, divide it in half, and working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) in diameter. (Cookie-dough logs have a way of ending up with hollow centers, so as you're shaping each log, flatten it once or twice and roll it up from one long side to the other, just to make certain you haven't got an air channel.) Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill them for at least 1 hour. (Wrapped airtight, the logs can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for I month.)

3. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and keep them close at hand.

4. Working with a sharp thin-bladed knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick. (Don't be upset if the rounds break; just squeeze the broken-off bit back onto the cookie.) Place the cookies on the parchment-lined sheets, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) spread space between them.

5. Bake only one sheet of cookies at a time, and bake each sheet for 12 minutes. The cookies will not look done, nor will they be firm, but that's just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies stand until they are only just warm or until they reach room temperature — it's your call. Repeat with the second sheet of cookies.

NOTE: The dough can be made ahead and chilled or frozen. If you've frozen the dough, you needn't defrost it before baking — just slice the logs and bake the cookies 1 minute longer. Packed airtight, baked cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 1 month.

*hmmm, I already have plans to bake this cookie when I get back this afternoon! After all, didn't Oscar Wilde say, the best way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it? Smart man, hehe.

Update:-18/02/08

My "justoutoftheoven" cookies ( my digicam has gone out of town; thanks to my son, Joe :), so the image's not too clear since I'm taking the pic with my phone's camera now.

Iman had insisted on me packing some of these cookies in her lunchbox for school today. When I picked her up, she said; "oooh, with one bite, my tongue was in paradise!" Hahaha. My little princess! With a response like that, how could I ever stop baking?? And I've got a "no-knead" raisin bread on the rise on the kitchen counter as I type this.. Well, that's for another post.....