GMA Recipe: Mini Black-and-White Cookies

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Mini Black-and-White Cookies
From GMA's Food Editor and author, Sara Moulton
Monday, December 12, 2005

Besides good cheer and presents beneath the tree, people share food during the holidays -- especially sweets. Cookies often are a favorite snack, especially considering that St. Nick is a cookie fanatic. Gourmet's Sara Moulton came to "GMA" to share some of the magazine's favorite cookie recipes.

Mini Black-and-White Cookies

This is a miniature version of a New York favorite -- a cakey cookie with sweet half-moons of vanilla and chocolate icing.

Ingredients
For cookies

1 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

For icings

2 3/4 cups confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

4 to 6 tablespoons water

1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Special equipment: a small offset spatula

Directions

First make the cookies. Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two large baking sheets. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high until pale and fluffy -- about three minutes. Then add egg; beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and mixing just until smooth.

Drop rounded teaspoons of batter one inch apart onto baking sheets. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed, edges are pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched: six to eight minutes total. Transfer to a rack to cool.

While the cookies cool, make the icings.

Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and two tablespoons water in a small bowl until smooth. If icing is not easily spreadable, add more water, a teaspoon at a time.

Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, a teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as vanilla icing. Cover surface with a dampened paper towel, then cover bowl with plastic wrap.

With offset spatula, spread white icing over half of flat side of each cookie. Starting with cookies you iced first, spread chocolate icing over other half.

Once icing is dry, cookies keep layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment in an airtight container at room temperature for four days.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Recipe copyright © 2005, Gourmet Magazine.