Black & White Cookies

In my opinion, these cookies are more aesthetically pleasing than they are tasty, but if you like a crispier cookie then you'll like this one. I personally prefer soft cookies, but these, while crispier, have a gooey glaze on top that balances it out well. The dough can be prepared in advance and the cookies baked the day before you plan to decorate them. So here's the recipe! 

COOKIES:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

a pinch of salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup & 2 tablespoons sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl and set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy in a large bowl.

Add the beaten egg and vanilla and mix well.

Add the sifted dry ingredients and mix again until smooth.

Bring together in a dough and knead very lightly and briefly. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a couple of hours until very firm.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Dust the work surface with flour and roll out the chilled cookie dough into a thickness of about 1/8 inch.

Side note: I have a great wooden rolling pin, but I needed a good cover for it. At Bed, Bath, & Beyond , I bought a Regency Naturals Pastry Cloth & Rolling Pin Cover. I highly recommend this. The pastry cloth and the rolling pin cover absorb most of the flour, so they create a great non-stick surface while allowing the dough to remain light and flaky. Anyway, I highly recommend it. But back to the recipe!

Using 2-inch and 3-inch round cookie cutters, stamp out rounds and place on baking sheets line with parchment. Re-roll scraps and stamp out more circles. If you don't happen to have cookie cutters, use anything circular you can find. I made these just before I invested in some new cookie cutters, so I used a small handmade vase made by my friend Sarah's husband (thanks, Adam & Sarah, for giving away awesome  wedding favors!)

 

Bake on the middle shelf for 12-15 minutes, or until crisp (my oven is old and the temp is unreliable, so it only took about 8-10 minutes for mine to get crisp).

Let cool on the sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

9 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons sunflower or peanut oil

Put the chocolate and oil in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth and thoroughly combined. Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes before using.

DECORATION CHOCOLATE:

3 1/2 ounce white chocolate, chopped

Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until smooth and thoroughly melted. 

Put the cookies back on some baking parchment to catch any drips while decorating.

Fill a piping bag (or plastic baggie with a corner snipped off) with the molten white chocolate and get a toothpick ready for "feathering".

Pour some of the chocolate glaze over each cookie with a spoon.

Spread the glaze neatly over the cookie, just to the edge, with the back of the spoon. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Working quickly, pipe dots of white chocolate over the dark chocolate glaze on just a few of the cookies.

Using the point of the toothpick, drag the white chocolate into the chocolate glaze to create a feathered effect. Repeat with the remaining cookies and let set before serving.

 

Enjoy! :-)