Korova Cookies

Yeay! I’m so happy the Korova cookies won :D! They sounded so delicious that I had to give them another try in this week’s poll, and they won most of you over too! The name Korova Cookies might confuse you so let me tell you a little bit more about them. They are chocolate-chocolate chip cookies from Pierre Hermé and they are sand cookies (sablés in French). But these cookies also have an American edge to them, in that they are essentially slice-and-bake icebox cookies. Speaking of the dough, let me tell you: Best. Cookie-Dough. Ever. The unbaked cookie dough gets a 5 out of 5, for sure! When these cookies were baked, they weren’t the best cookies I’ve ever tasted, but I find myself going back for seconds … and thirds (!) everytime I grab one, so I rate them 4 out of 5.

Korova Cookies recipe: Dorie Greenspan - Paris Sweets

Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 stick + 3 tablespoons (5 ½ ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon flear de sel or ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small bits

Instructions:
- Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together and keep at close 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 cream. 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 crumby, 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.
- 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 ½ inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wraps and chill them for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Working with a sharp thin-bladed knife, slice the logs into rounds that are ½ inch thick. Don’t be upset if the rounds break; just squeeze the broken-off bit back onto the cookie. Place the cookies on the sheets, leaving 1 inch spread space between them.
- Bake only one sheet of cookies at a time, and bake each sheet 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.











About the name: 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 pâtisserie.