Black & Whites

These "cake-ish" cookies are big in New York, so I'm told. I personally have never seen/heard of them before the owner of the restaurant came to me and asked me to develop a good recipe for this unique treat.

The flavor of the cookie is mild, the texture is "cake-ish" and most of the sweet sugariness we all associate with cookies comes in the form of the icing fondant.

Since icing fondant isn't something found in your local market, feel free to use a confectioner's glaze:

Start with powdered sugar (approximately 1 1/2 cups for this recipe), thin to a good spreading consistency with milk, and flavor however you like (I personally love almond extract, especially with the chocolate glaze).
You could use cinnamon, or any flavored extract you like.  For a chocolate glaze, use a combination of powdered sugar and cocoa powder (I prefer Hershey's Special Dark, it's so much more chocolaty! (approximately 1/4 cup), and add cocoa powder until it reaches the color/flavor you desire. Beware though, if you use too much it will taste like cocoa powder, and no longer like icing.

If the glaze becomes too thin, add more powdered sugar, too thick, add more milk a tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

These are delicious! The restaurant sells out of these cookies everyday!  I hope you enjoy them as much as my customers do.

Black and White Cookies

1 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/3 cup Buttermilk
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
(I prefer vanilla paste)
5 Tbs Unsalted Butter, soft
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1 Large Egg

Preheat oven to 350 F.
1. Whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and salt.  Stir together buttermilk and vanilla.

2. Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add the egg, beating until combined.

3. Alternating between the dry and wet ingredients, mix until combined, scraping the bowl occasionally. Mix until smooth.

4. Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2" apart onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake about 8-10 minutes until the tops are lightly browned, and puffy, and the cookies spring back when touched in the middle. Allow to cool before glazing. To cool them faster, place cookie sheet on top of cooling rack, or transfer cookies with a metal spatula.

To glaze the cookies, turn flat side up, and spread half with white icing, and half with chocolate.

To read more about these cookies check out:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Black-and-White-Cookies-106171