New York Black and White Cookies

This is my last blog post of 2011! It's amazing how quickly time goes by. I remember starting this blog in 2009, not knowing that it would bring me such joy and friendships. One of the best parts about blogging is the sense of community: Women (and some men) connecting over a love of food and creating in the kitchen. 2011 held some important life events. I bought a condo, turned over a new leaf in my outlook on food/nutrition and best of all, I fell in love.

I'm happy that these cookies are my last post of the year as they symbolize one of my best memories of 2011: My trip to New York. When I think back on that vacation in September, I remember feeling happy, carefree and loved. These cookies are New York Deli classics and have been featured on episodes of Sex and the City and Seinfeld. They are larger than most cookies but they are light rather than dense. They are sometimes called "Halfmoons" or "Amerikaner Cookies" and were said to once have been made out of leftover cake batter.




Makes 12 | Gourmet, February 2002

Cookies
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg

For icings
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1. Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 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 until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

2. Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes.

3. Make icings while cookies chill: Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as white icing.

4. Ice cookies: Turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half.