Black and White Cookies
Black and White Cookies
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| Yield: | 2 dozen large (4") cookies |
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup butter*
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon lemon oil, or 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 4 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup milk (regular or low-fat; not nonfat)
- *If you use salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe to 1 teaspoon
Vanilla icing
- 3 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 3 tablespoons hot water
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract*
- *For the whitest icing (at the cost of reduced flavor), omit the vanilla
Chocolate icing
- 2 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
- 3/4 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (chips, or chunks), melted
Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
2) To make the cookies: Beat together the butter, sugar, salt, baking powder, lemon, and vanilla till well combined.
3) Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4) Stir in the flour alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Do this gently; there's no need to beat.
5) Using a muffin scoop or a 1/4-cup measure, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. With wet fingers, or the wet bottom of a measuring cup, flatten/spread the dough to a 3"-diameter circle. Leave 2" to 2 1/2" between each cookie; they'll spread.
6) Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until they're set, and are perhaps a very light golden brown around the edges. If there's no sign of brown, that's OK. Cookies baked for 10 minutes will be quite moist. Cookies baked for 12 minutes will be drier, and more "authentic." Bake for 11 minutes for an in-between cookie.
7) Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool them right on the pan. As they cool, prepare the icing.
8) To make the vanilla icing: Whisk together the confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, and hot water. For a nice vanilla flavor, add the vanilla; for the whitest icing, omit it.
9) Spread the icing over half of each cookie. Place them on a rack to set while you make the chocolate icing.
10) To make the chocolate icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, hot water, and espresso powder. stirring till smooth.
11) In the microwave, or in a pan set over very low heat, melt the chocolate.
12) Add the melted chocolate into the sugar mixture, stirring till well combined.
13) Spread the icing on the uncovered half of each cookie. You'll have a generous amount of icing, so don't be afraid to pile it on.
14) Set the cookies back on the rack, and allow them to rest for about 30 minutes, till the icing is set.
15) For best storage, wrap each cookie individually, in plastic wrap, and store at room temperature.
Yield: 2 dozen large (3 3/4" to 4") cookies.
Reviews
03/14/2011- These cookies are delicious, just like the ones I used to get from the local bakery in college. The cookies are cake-like with just the right hint of lemon, and the icing is very sweet and sugary . I made them smaller using a 2tbsp cookie scoop and cooked them for 7 min, they came out perfect. Thanks for the great recipe!
02/10/2011- The cookie part is amazing just like the ones I treat myself to at the bakery! However I don't really like the vanilla icing because it tastes like confectioner's sugar. I found a different one using whipped cream and the combination is unbeatable!
- 06/21/2010
- my cookies tasted great but they were awfully lumpy. I realized they might be better if i piped them, and i think with a little practice, piping would make a more professional-looking cookie. i ran out of vanilla icing and had to make a second batch--perhaps i made it too thin and it ran off the cookie. even if i have to make 2 batches of icing again, it's all worth it. delicious cookies and out-of-the-ordinary!
- 02/12/2010
- Made these this week while snowbound in Virginia-- delicious! Valentine's Day suggestion: after frosting Black and White, put aside a little vanilla frosting, add 1 tsp raspberry extract and 3 drops of red food coloring. Put this frosting into frosting bag with small tip and use for making hearts, swirlies, initials, etc.! The bites of cookie with chocolate, vanilla AND a raspberry heart became a quick favorite...
- 09/25/2009
- These are great! Much better than the delis! I baked them and mailed them to my daughter in college as they held up great in shipping. The next batch, I made Orange & Black for Halloween or Fall by substituting orange juice and orange extract for the vanilla in the white icing plus adding orange food dye. Those also came out great but with a fruity taste. I also did not add the corn syrup to the white icing as I thought it made it too sweet.
- 09/04/2009
- These cookies were fantastic. I gave a copy of the recipe to a friend and she prepared them yesterday. When I stopped by after work, we had a tasting and they were what I remembered as a soft sugar cookie from when I was a child many decades ago. She indicated they were easy to prepare and the finished product was really pretty. It also suggested that the icing colors and flavors could be played around with and that we would like to try the recipe with a sprinkling of just sugar on the top prior to baking. I will be making the cookies for the next tasting and we will see what changes we can make and keep the integrity of the recipe.
- 08/26/2009
- I've always wondered what the fuss has been over Black & White cookies. Now I can find out for myself. One tip for the white frosting: Check at your grocery stores or local cake decorating stores for Clear Vanilla. I would NEVER leave vanilla out of my recipe! Thanks for those wonderful recipes.
