Mini Black-and-White Cookies

I decided to make these black and white cookies, because of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry buys this type of cookie at a bakery and says for racial harmony we “Should look to the cookie!” I have never eaten a real, New York City black and white cookie, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect.  I have to say this version of black and white cookies did not impress.

Mini Black-and White Cookies

For the cookies:

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk

For the icing:

2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
2 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon water, plus more if needed
1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make cookies, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.
3. Put butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add granulated sugar; mix until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. Mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk.
4. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls; drop onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookie, rotating sheets halfway through, until bottoms turn golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on on wire racks.
5. To make icing, whisk powdered sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and the water in a small bowl until smooth. Add more water, if needed, to achieve a consistency slightly thicker than honey. Transfer half the icing to a small bowl. Stir in cocoa powder; thin with water if needed.
6. Spread white icing on half of each cookie’s flat side and cocoa icing on other half. Let stand until set, 30 minutes. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

My notes: These cookies were a bit of disaster for me. As you can tell by the photo above, I missed the direction that said to ice on the flat side. The cookie wasn’t very sweet and the icing is very lemony. Plus, it seems like the should be a lot flatter. I did notice that this recipe only got two stars on the Martha Stewart site, so I don’t think it was completely my fault that these did not work out. That’s what I’m telling myself, anyway!

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies by Martha Stewart Living.