Black and White Cookies

I wanted to make Black and White Cookies for Father's Day, but as many of you know, my baking skills could use a little work!  And this seems ambitious!

But they came out great!!!!  They were however, pretty time consuming, so not something to make that often, unless my extra special father wants them, in which case I will make them anytime, Father's Day or not! : )

 

Aimee came over to help, although my kitchen is so small, her role became just keeping me company! haha

I found this website, Anne's Eats,  off of Pinterest, and I think it will be one of my new go-to's for recipes. 
 

Black and White Cookies

from Anne's Eats

For the cookies:
4 cups (16 oz.) cake flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
16 tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1¾ cups (12¼ oz.) sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. lemon extract
1 cup milk

For the glaze:
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
¼ cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup water
5 cups (20 oz.) confectioners’ sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
Milk, as needed

 

Directions:
To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds. Add in the sugar gradually, increasing the speed to medium-high and beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Blend in the eggs, vanilla and lemon extracts at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. With the mixer on low speed, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, alternately add the flour mixture in four additions and the milk in 3 additions just until combined.

I don't have a mixer, stand or hand, so I just whisked and mixed and stirred and stirred, and the cookies still came out pretty good. : )

 

Using a ¼-cup measuring cup and a spoon, place six ¼-cup mounds of dough a generous 2 inches apart on each baking sheet.  With moistened fingers, gently press each mound of dough into a disk 2½ inches wide and ¾ inch thick. Bake until the centers of the cookies are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown, about 20 minutes, rotating the baking pans halfway through the baking time.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 2 minutes. Use a wide spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining dough. Let cookies cool completely before icing.

 

To make the icing, melt the chocolate in a medium bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the corn syrup and water and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and whisk in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until combined. Transfer ¾ cup of the vanilla icing to the bowl with the melted chocolate and stir to combine. 

To glaze the cookies, place the cookies on wire racks set over waxed paper or foil. Use a small offset spatula to spread about 2 tablespoons of the vanilla icing on half the flat side (bottom) of each cookie. Tilt the cookie and run the spatula around the edge to scrape off excess icing. Allow to harden slightly, about 15 minutes.

 She said milk can be added if the icing gets to thick, but when I thinned the vanilla out, it made the icing too transparent and you could see through it which isn't the look you want it on the cookie. : (

Using the offset spatula, spread the chocolate icing over the other half of each cookie, scraping away excess icing from the edge. Allow the glaze to set at least 1 hour before serving. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container layered between sheets of parchment paper for up to 3 days.

 

 

 

 

YAY   YAY   YAY!!!  Perhaps these should be a father's day tradition. 

(Although as good as they were, I am not sure if they compare to a real bakery one! )