| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Inactive: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 32 cookies |
Ingredients
- Oil, for brushing
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks, 8 ounces), softened
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons warm water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush 2 baking sheets very lightly with oil.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.
- Whisk the buttermilk and vanilla together in a liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
- Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat at high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. At low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the wet in 2 parts, beginning and ending with the dry to make a smooth batter.
- Evenly mound 2 tablespoons batter per cookie onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 2-inches apart. (A small cookie scoop or ice cream scoop is ideal for this.) Bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack and cool completely.
- For the chocolate icing: Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan; pour over the chocolate. Shake the bowl gently so cream settles around the chocolate; set aside until the chocolate melts, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth, taking care not to incorporate too many air bubbles. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small tip with about half of the chocolate icing.
- For the white icing: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice and warm water together to make a smooth icing. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small tip with about a quarter of the icing.
- To Decorate:
- For tuxedo cookies: Set the cookies on a rack over a rimmed cookie sheet. Pour the white glaze over the whole cookie to cover; set aside to dry. Pipe a bowtie and tuxedo lapel with the chocolate icing.
- For a little black dress and pearls: Pipe an outline of a woman’s dress with the dark chocolate and fill in with more icing. Pipe white icing pearls around the top of the cookie. Add silver dragees or candy pearls to dress up, if desired.
- Let cookies dry completely, about 20 minutes. Serve.
- Store cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to 2 days.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 32 servings |
| Calories | 222 |
| Total Fat | 10 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 31 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 20 g |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Cholesterol | 49 mg |
| Sodium | 78 mg |
Reviews
The “cookie” part was exactly what I was looking for. I’ve made the Gail Gand black and whites and they were more like a firm cookie. I prefer a cake like black and white and these were fantastic. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was because although I loved the vanilla frosting ( I didn’t like the chocolate frosting) So I took the vanilla frosting recipe and added 3 tblsp of cocoa and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. When I copied the recipe with my changes, I then rated it 5 stars. They were the #1 hit at our Easter celebration.
The cookies were good but is was so long! After me and my friend finished them we were so tired! I wont make these again!!!
the cookies by themselves were okay but the icings were terrible. the chocolate was to runny and the vanilla was thick and unspreadable. They really needed better icing more like a frosting. the cookies were impossible to ice.
Although my children are away at college I continue to bake for them. Sending/bringing them baked goods about once a month. They said that these are, by far, the best cookies I’ve made.
I followed the recipe exactly (adding a little almond extract to the white icing). They puffed up beautifully resulting in a light and delicate cookie. Although the white icing needed to be thinned out just a bit, the white and chocolate icing on one cookie is a treat for your mouth.
I’ll be baking these cookies again!!!
Getting the icing to the point of pouring was challenging especially to keep it there where it wouldn’t clump or so you could get to the next cookie. I used a ton of icing since I had to redo many of the cookies (luckily I bought it from my local bakery premade, or I would have been upset! The pearls were a challence to get to stick without icing oozing everywhere. I ended up using piping gel so it would be clear, but I couldn’t stack them since it never dries. The end product was pretty and I got lots of compliments, but I don’t think I’ll make them again….too much work for the reward.
B&W cookies are my absolute favorite, so I gave this recipe a try for a holiday event. Overall, the cookie and icing flavors were good, however, I did have significant issues. The prep of the dough takes so long that the dough is very warm by the time it goes into the oven. Because of this, I also experienced what the other reviewer reported, the cookies spread. I put the last sheet in the freezer for a bit before going in to the oven and that helped. The bigger issue I had was with the icing. The white was nice and thick when first applied to cooled cookie, but soaked in and slid off in transit to event. The chocolate icing when prepared was so thin it ran everywhere. I had to put the cookies in the freezer after decorating just to get them out of the house. However, opposite the white icing, the chocolate icing firmed up nicely on the cookie. (I did traditional icing of half and half instead of party variation.) Also, I agree with the reviewer who said the vanilla seemed high. I tried just under a tablespoon and will go a bit less if I try these again. Overall, even though I had significant problems, the cookies made a big splash with the guests and were much more special than average chocolate chips cookies and the like. I will likely try these again.
Well I was very disappointed w/ this recipe. I was expecting something more spectacular for all the effort they took. My cookies looked more like pancakes after they were baked b/c of the 2 tbl batter, they spread out really far and were all flat on the edges. The white icing recipe was definately off too, I had to add 2 extra tbl water just to get it spreadable. I cook and bake all the time and have never had a recipe turn out so mediocre! Everyone did ooooh and aahhh over them (before tasting) at the cookie exchange and the flavor was good. I wont make these again.