Black and White Cookies

Have you ever thought the world was telling you to try a recipe? Well, that's how I felt earlier this week. I received two different cooking magazines that both included Black & White Cookies as their feature. What are the chances? It's such a specific thing. Not just everyone makes Black & White Cookies. A matter of fact, you rarely see them here in Ohio where I live. After reading the two-page article that accompanied the Cook's Illustrated recipe, I learned that they have been a much beloved New York treat for decades. A neighbor of mine who lived in Boston even said "hey, they make those in New York." Guess they are even more popular there than the magazine led me to believe.

They really are spectacular cookies. To the eye they are huge and striking with their bold, contrasting hues. To the palate they are soft, flavorful, and pair perfectly with a cup of coffee. The batter is delicious - it barely made it to the baking stage. I couldn't stop eating it. Lemon and vanilla and butter and sugar...come on, how in the world am I ever going to lose any weight!?!

Also, Andrew LOVED these cookies. He called them "dangerous." In his vocabulary, that term is reserved for the utmost delicious treats that are easily accessible to him.

See, two magazines...

Ingredients for Cookies:
4 Cups Cake Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
16 Tblsp (2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened
1&3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract, heaping
1/2 Lemon Extract, heaping
1 Cup Whole Milk (I used Half & Half since I didn't have milk)

Ingredients for Icings:
1/4 Cup Light Corn Syrup
1/3 Cup Water
5 Cups Confectioner's Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 oz Unsweetened Chocolate, melted
2-4 tsp Water (a little more if needed)

* Recipe makes about 20 cookies.

Directions for the Cookies:

Gather your ingredients for the cookie dough. (I was so excited to use lemon extract!) Preheat your oven to 350. Line a few baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together your dry ingredients (cake flour, baking powder, and salt). Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down bowl as needed.

Add eggs one at a time. Scrape down the bowl after each addition.

Add the vanilla and lemon extracts and beat until combined, about 30 seconds or so. Scrape down the bowl.

Using the "stir" speed or lowest mixer speed, beat in the flour mixture and the milk about a 1/2 cup at a time, alternating between each - start with and end with the flour mixture. Of course, scrape down as needed.

The easiest way that I found to get the cookie batter onto the baking sheets was to use a pastry bag. After attempting it different ways, I You Tube'd it and found this method by some New Jersey bakery owner. It's a clutch move.

I ended up taking the tip off of my pastry bag. Meaning that if you just put the batter into a freezer bag and cut a hole in the bottom corner, you are good to go.

Squeeze the dough out onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. These are big cookies, they're suppose to be. Squeeze out about a 1/4 - 1/3 cup of dough.

Get your fingers wet (actually, keep a little bowl of water next to you to dunk your finger into); and press down the tops of the cookies trying to keep a circular shape. Don't worry about them being perfect. Somehow they get round when they bake. It's a mystery to me. Also, I have pretty big cookie sheets and they fit 6 to a sheet.

Bake 1 sheet at a time, with the oven rack in the middle of course, at 350 degrees for 15 mins or until edges just start to turn golden brown. Let cookies cool on cookie sheets for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before icing.

When my cookies were cool, I put them in an air tight container and frosted the next day. I simply ran out of time, so if you need to do this, by all means do. The cookies save for days, and were actually moister on the 2nd day when I frosted them.

Now onto to our icing. We're going to use the same base for both. It's super simple. Above our the ingredients needed + water.

Combine the corn syrup and 1/2 cup of water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Remove from heat and whisk in the confectioner's sugar and vanilla.

Add water as needed by the tsp to make icing smooth. (Sorry, I didn't actually use a tsp, just eye-balled it.)

Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Use a low heat and stir often so you don't burn it.

Divide the icing in half. (Half is for the vanilla and half for the chocolate, just like the cookies.) For the chocolate half, pour in the melted chocolate and stir. Add a little water if needed.

Start by icing the vanilla side of the cookies by using a butter knife. Me being a perfectionist, I was scared about icing these cookies; wasn't sure I could make them look good. No worries, somehow the icing dries much smoother and things sorta find their way.

Once the vanilla side has hardened, then do the chocolate side. Let them dry for an hour or so.

Seal in air tight containers. Use parchment paper to make layers inside your container so the cookies don't stick together.

I wish I had gotten picture of them dry. They are even prettier. Very smooth looking.

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Magazine
Makes approx. 20 cookies

Ingredients for Cookies:
4 Cups Cake Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
16 Tblsp (2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened
1&3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract, heaping
1/2 Lemon Extract, heaping
1 Cup Whole Milk (I used Half & Half since I didn't have milk)

Ingredients for Icings:
1/4 Cup Light Corn Syrup
1/3 Cup Water
5 Cups Confectioner's Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 oz Unsweetened Chocolate, melted
2-4 tsp Water (a little more if needed)

Directions for the Cookies:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and line a few baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Whisk together the dry ingredients (cake flour, baking powder, and salt). Set aside.

3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, scraping down after each addition. Add vanilla and lemon and beat until combined (about 30 seconds), then scrape down the bowl.

4. Using the "stir" speed or lowest mixer speed, beat in the flour mixture and the milk about a 1/2 cup at a time, alternating between each - start with and end with the flour mixture. Scrape down as needed.

5. Put cookie batter into a pastry bag and squeeze out cookies onto parchment-lined baking sheets, approx. 1/4 - 1/3 cup per cookie. Use wet fingers to press down cookies trying to keep their round shape.

6. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, until the edges just start to turn golden brown. Let cookies rest on baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Directions for Icings:

1. Combine corn syrup and 1/3 cup water in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

2. Remove mixture from heat and whisk in the confectioner's sugar and vanilla. Add water as needed by the tsp to make it smooth.

3. Melt chocolate in the microwave. Divide icing in half (half for the vanilla icing & half for the chocolate icing). For the chocolate half, pour in the melted chocolate and stir. Add a little water if needed.

4. Ice the cookies using a butter knife, starting with the vanilla side first. After the vanilla side has hardened, do the chocolate side.