WOW scale: 8
Time to prepare: @ 1 hour
Skill required: You have successfully baked cookies a few times.
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
2-1/2 cups cake flour
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Frosting
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup boiling water
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate
1. Cookie: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Butter 2 baking sheets and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter and mix by machine or hand until fluffy.
4. Add eggs, milk, vanilla and lemon extract and mix until smooth.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the 2 flours, baking powder, and salt and stir until mixed.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches, stirring well to combine.
7. Using a soup spoon, drop spoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
8. Bake until the edges begin to brown, 20 to 30 minutes.
9. Allow to cool completely.
Frosting:
1. While cookies are cooling, place the confectioners' sugar in a large bowl.
2. Gradually add enough of the boiling water to the sugar, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and spreadable. To make frosting shiny, add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil.
3. Put half of the frosting in a small sauce pan. On LOW heat, add the chocolate.
4. Warm the mixture, stirring, until the chocolate is melted and the frosting is smooth. (If you have a double boiler and know how to use it, use this instead of a sauce pan.
5. Remove from heat.
6. With a brush, coat half the cookie with chocolate frosting and the other half with white frosting.
Yields: 24 cookies.
Commentary: This is the original Black and White cookie recipe that New Yorkers rave about. It is a CAKE-like cookie and you can only eat one... maybe two. This is a tasty cookie to accompany an ice cream dessert and also looks good piled up on a cookie platter on a buffet table.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~