Black and White cookies are a New York City emblem. Found in every corner store and deli, they are a sign that you are, indeed, in the greatest city in the world. More cake-like in texture than a cookie, they are softer than they look but still hold the glaze well on the surface.
I was born in New York and get a little verklempt over things like these cookies so I’ve kept this recipe traditional except for a small change in the glaze. I added our WhistlePig Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged Maple to it for just the slightest hint of whiskey and maple. I also like to change the half black, half white pattern to a yin/yang one. I know these changes might make a New Yorker use some descriptive language about what I might do with my Vermont hippie pastry to which I might reply with some equally bold words about flavor. You can take the girl out of New York….
Cookies
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 ½ sticks (¾ cup) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
⅔ cup buttermilk
Glaze
3 cups confectioners sugar
4 Tbsp Whiskey Barrel-aged maple syrup or other
4 -5 Tbsp whole milk
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a standing mixer or by hand, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla.
Incorporate the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk until just combined.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using about a quarter cup at a time, place the batter in mounds on the parchment, giving them space in between. Have a bowl of water on hand to wet your fingers and gently press down on the mounds to make a level circle of each mound (not too thin).
Bake in the oven for about five minutes then turn the pan and bake for another five or until the edges just begin to brown. Remove from the oven to cool completely.
Make the glazes by combining the confectioner’s sugar, maple syrup, and milk in a small bowl. The consistency should be thick but spreadable. Add extra milk if necessary. Divide in half. To one half add the cocoa powder and a little extra milk or syrup if it is too thick.
When the cookies have cooled, spread the white glaze on one half side. Spread the cocoa glaze on the other half.