Black and White Cookies

Like I’ve said before, I’m habitually late for everything. It doesn’t matter what it is, I’ll be late. These cookies? No exception. I had a great post planned about how it was coming up on the biggest night in Hollywood. The night when all the brightest stars came together to honor the best of the best. It was supposed to be a post about Oscar night, and how these were the perfect cookies for your Oscar party. (They look like little tuxedos!) Too bad the Oscars were almost a week ago.


I had the cookies made, the pictures taken. But when it came to actually writing the post, I just couldn’t make the words come out. For 2 days I sat with my Word document open, hoping inspiration would strike. It never did. The Oscars came and went, and still, I had nothing. (I still have nothing. Hence, the post about, well, nothing.) But I just couldn’t let these cookies get lost in the abyss of writer’s block. They deserve their spotlight, even if their true intention is a little belated. So here you are! Black and White Cookies. They’re yum. Really. And almost authentic! Black and Whites are a New York specialty and a coworker who grew up in New York gave them her approval saying they were pretty close to the real thing. Yay! Now for the hard part--which side to eat first?


I couldn’t decide, so I had a bit of each. And some right down the middle! What's your favorite side?

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Black and White Cookies
Adapted from All Recipes.com and Grumpy’s Honeybunch
Makes 20 4-inch cookies



Cookies:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon lemon extract
2 ½ cups cake flour
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk

White Glaze:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
½ teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla extract)
1 ½ tablespoons milk

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and lemon extracts, beating to combine.
4. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour, and mixing until just combined.
5. With an ice cream scoop or 2 ½-inch cookie scoop, drop dough onto prepared sheets, 4 inches apart. Bake until edges just barely start to brown, about 14 minutes. Transfer immediately to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Once the cookies have cooled, make glazes. To make chocolate glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together confectioner’s sugar, cocoa powder, and milk until smooth. Set aside. To make white glaze, in a separate small bowl, whisk together confectioner’s sugar, extract, and milk until smooth. Using a knife or an offset spatula, spread white glaze over one half of the flat part of the cookie (what would normally be the bottom of the cookie).* Repeat with the chocolate glaze on the other half. Let sit at room temperature for about an hour to allow glaze to set. (Or you can put them in the fridge for about a half an hour.)

*Note: I actually found it easier to pipe an outline of frosting on my cookies before spreading. And they were prettier. I’m a very messy icer.