Black and White Cookies

Our book club selection this month was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. In keeping with a new tradition, I wanted to make something that relates to the book. I decided on New York's infamous Black and White Cookies.

Having only been to New York a handful of times, I'm certainly no expert on these cookies, but I have never tried a recipe on smittenkitchen that I didn't like, so when I saw she had a recipe for black and white cookies, I figured I couldn't go wrong.

My friend who lived in New York for five years thought they were a really good homemade version, though not quite the same as from a New York bakery. I thought they were just delicious cookies (and pretty)! I thought the white side of the frosting was a little too sweet, but it was balanced out with the chocolate and the cookie itself.

Black and White Cookies
1 3/4 c granulated sugar
1 c unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
4 large eggs
1 1/2 c milk
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/4 t lemon extract
2 1/2 c cake flour
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
4 c confectioners’ sugar
1/3 to 1/2 c water
3 oz very bitter or unsweetened chocolate
1 t light corn syrup
1 to 2 T unsweetened cocoa (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray, or line with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter. Mix by machine or hand until fluffy. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and lemon extracts, and mix until smooth.

In a medium bowl, combine cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until mixed. Add dry mixture to the wet in batches, stirring well after each addition. Using a soup spoon, place heaping spoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake until edges begin to brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool completely.

Boil a cup or so of water in a small pot. Place confectioners’ sugar in large, heat-safe mixing bowl. Gradually stir in enough boiling water to the sugar to make a thick, spreadable mixture. Err on the side of caution because a too-thin frosting is hard to undo. Leave remaing boiling water on the stove.

Spread frosting on half of the flat side of each cookie. Once all cookie halves have been frosted, place the bowl of the remaining frosting over the hot water and bring it back to a simmer (creating a double-boiler). Stir in the bitter or unsweetened chocolate until melted (I'd recommended breaking up the chocolate for easier melting), as well as the light corn syrup. Depending on the chocolate you used, you might find the chocolate color to be a little lighter than the “black” of a black-and-white cookie. If so, a tablespoon or so of cocoa mixed in darkens the color nicely. I ended up adding two tablespoons of cocoa and was really happy with the look and taste.

Ice the remaining half of the cookies with the chocolate frosting. If the chocolate frosting is getting too dry, whisk in an extra teaspoon of the hot water to smooth it back into a shiny frosting.

Let the frosting set. Store in an airtight container.