My advice would be if they aren't spreading enough then there is a bit too much flour. Try cutting down 1/4 cup and do a test cookie, if it's spreading too much then add a bit more flour until you get it how you like it. Betty Crocker cookbook has this tip in their old cookbook. I think most people are trying to figure it out when it's really just as simple as too much or not enough flour that affects the spread of the cookie. Try not to over-think it so much. EDIT TO ADD: The cookies in the picture look good though...they don't look like they didn't spread enough to me. Here's a thought too, why not use a round cookie scoop to form them and flatten them out a bit with the bottom or a glass or something? This post was edited by arkansas_girl on Thu, Dec 27, 12 at 10:31

Why not start with one chile, taste the dough, and then if you feel courageous, add a second one. I bought some hatch chiles recently at Whole Foods. They had a bin of mild and a bin of hot. I bought some of both, and used a twist tie on the bag of mild chiles, and no tie on the bag of hot chiles. When I started working with them, I tasted the both. Wow, they were both quite hot to me, and I can usually deal with hot. I don't know if they got the bins mixed up, or what happened, but I couldn't tell a difference. I can't imagine them in cookies, but I do occasionally like a pinch of cayenne in chocolate. Go figure. Sally

Terri, I think that this might work... The dough hold it's shape and you could leave out the chocolate chips. They are very good...that much is for sure! Refrigerate the dough and just roll out. WORLD PEACE COOKIES Dorie Greenspan Deeply chocolaty World Peace Cookies will be a hit, either passed after dinner or as a gift. Servings: Makes about 36 cookies \-\-These cookies, the brainchild of Parisian pastry chef Pierre Herm with whom Dorie Greenspan wrote "Desserts by Pierre Hermé," caused Greenspan's neighbor, Richard Gold, to say that a daily dose of these is all that is needed to ensure planetary peace and happiness. You can't eat just one. The salt is important to the taste; don't skimp on it. Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups all\-purpose flour 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 stick plus 3 Tbsps. (11 Tbsps. altogether) unsalted butter, at room temperature 2/3 cup packed light\-brown sugar 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. fleur de sel or 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store\- bought mini chocolate chips 1\. Sift flour, cocoa and baking soda together. 2\. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, salt and vanilla extract and beat 2 minutes longer. 3\. Turn off mixer. Pour in dry ingredients; drape a kitchen towel over stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek \-\- if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple more times; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds longer, just until the flour disappears into the dough \-\- for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don't be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only enough to incorporate. 4\. Turn dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it into half. Working with half at a time, shape dough into logs that are 11/2 inches in diameter. Wrap logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you've frozen the dough, you needn't defrost it before baking \-\- just slice the logs into cookies and bake 1 minute longer.) 5\. When ready to bake, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. 6\. Using a sharp, thin knife, slice logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds may crack as you're cutting them; don't be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange rounds on baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them. 7\. Bake cookies 1 sheet at a time for 12 minutes. They won't 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 rest until they are just warm, at which point you can serve them, or wait until they are room temperature. ................................. Nancy

moving this down