Black & White Cookies

For this week's Sweet Sunday I made mini Black & White Cookies. I grew up eating Black & White cookies with my dad. Whenever we'd go to the grocery store we'd always get them. I don't know if it's an Italian bakery thing or a New York thing or what, but it has been near impossible for me to find a good Black & White cookie for a long time. I even got some at the grocery store when I was home over Thanksgiving and Dad just looked at them and said "Why did you waste your money?" The perfect Black & White cookie has hard sugary icing and a cakey cookie, either vanilla or chocolate. Dad and I preferred the chocolate, but the recipe I found was for vanilla and I decided to try it out. This recipe took me twice to get right. The key is to smooth out the edges of the cookie after you drop them onto the cookie sheet. This is to make a nice dome before you bake them, don't assume they'll spread and look ok, because they won't. But if you take the time to touch them up after they are on the sheet, you wont be sorry. Below is the recipe from Epicurious that I followed exactly.

Mini Black & White Cookies
from epicurious.com

Cookies
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg

Icings
2 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 to 6 tablespoons water
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Make cookies:
1. Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 large baking sheets.

2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and mixing just until smooth.

Drop rounded teaspoons of batter 1 inch apart onto baking sheets. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed, edges are pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 6 to 8 minutes total. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Make icings while cookies cool:

Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl until smooth. If icing is not easily spreadable, add more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as vanilla icing. Cover surface with a dampened paper towel, then cover bowl with plastic wrap.

Ice cookies:

With offset spatula, spread white icing over half of flat side of each cookie. Starting with cookies you iced first, spread chocolate icing over other half.

Cooks' note:
Once icing is dry, cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 4 days.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and mixing just until smooth.

3. Drop rounded teaspoons of batter 1 inch apart onto baking sheets. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed, edges are pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 6 to 8 minutes total. Transfer to a rack to cool

4. Make icings while cookies cool: Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl until smooth. If icing is not easily spreadable, add more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as vanilla icing. Cover surface with a dampened paper towel, then cover bowl with plastic wrap.

5. Ice cookies: With offset spatula, spread white icing over half of flat side of each cookie. Starting with cookies you iced first, spread chocolate icing over other half.

6. Cooks' note: Once icing is dry, cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 4 days.

These cookies came out perfectly and looked so nice in my holiday cookie tins, with the grasshopper squares. If you love Black and White's these are authentic and great! If you've never had them make these and you'll love them.

Happy Hanukkah today and Merry Christmas for Thursday (In case I don't get a chance to post again)! Enjoy!