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Dry cookies

post #1 of 7
8/17/09 at 3:13pm
Thread Starter 
I tried Gale Gand's Black and White cookies from her Butter, Sugar, Flour Eggs cookbook. The flavor was fine, but they were quite dry. The only thing I did differently was to moisten my hands before I patted the dough into the requried shape. Here's the recipe:

8 T (one stick) unsalted butter (I softened it)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1.8 teaspoon pure lemon extract
1-1/4 cups cake flour
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with wax or parchment paper.

Cream the butter in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer) utnil smooth. Add the granulated sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs, milk, and extracts and mix to combine. Combine the flours, baking powder and salt and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar-egg mixture and mix to blend.
Using an ice-cream scoop, scoop the dough onto the pans. With the back of a spatula, press and spread each cookie into a circle about 5 inches in diameter and 5/8" thick.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden. Let cook on wire racks.
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post #2 of 7
8/18/09 at 5:08am
Usually whenever I made or ate them they were dry. The dough is like a sandies type cookie which is also dry. Just dip them in a lot of milk when eating.
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post #3 of 7
8/18/09 at 7:30am
Try Sherry Yard's recipe for Black and White Cookies from Desserts by the Yard. I only made them once but they sold well.
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post #4 of 7
8/18/09 at 1:41pm
never tried black/white cookies..but are they suppose to be black and white or something:crazy: the recipe posted sounds like a good basic dough that could be used lots of ways right? would love it if someone could post sherry yard recipe and compare.
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post #5 of 7
8/18/09 at 2:23pm
Thread Starter 
Black and whites are an east coast (US) thing, apparently. Being from the midwest, I hadn't heard of them until I began hanging out here. I thought they were a rich, shortbread type cookie with vanilla (white) icing on one half and chocolate (black) icing on the other. I was wrong; they're supposed to be cake-like and soft rather than crisp. I baked them because a friend wanted to come to my home and bake them with her daughter. (We had a lot of fun!)

It's hard to make something when you don't have experience with it. I'd be grateful to have a different recipe!
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post #6 of 7
8/23/09 at 8:25pm

Sherry Yard's recipe

Here you go. I got this from Habeas Brulee blog:

Black and White Cookies
(from Desserts by the Yard by Sherry Yard)
for the cookie dough
2 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
6 oz. (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 C sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C buttermilk
for the icing
2 1/2 C plus 1 tsp confectioner’s sugar
1 tbsp light corn syrup, plus more as needed
2 tbsp hot water, plus more as needed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (NOT dutch process)

Preheat your oven to 350 F.


Stir together the flour and baking powder and set aside.


Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Beating at low speed, and just until incorporated each time, beat in a third of the flour mixture, half of the buttermilk, another third of the flour, the rest of the buttermilk, and then the rest of the flour.


Spoon the dough 1/4 C at a time onto a parchment paper covered baking sheet, several inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate and bake for an addition 8 minutes or so, until lightly golden around the edges.


Let the cookies cool on a wire rack while you make the icing.


To make the icing, beat together the confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, water, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, carefully melt the chocolate.



Separate out half of the icing and whisk in the chocolate and cocoa powder. Whisk in a bit more hot water and corn syrup to help everything integrate and to thin it out a bit.
Spread chocolate icing on half of each cookie, let it set, then spread vanilla icing on the other half.
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post #7 of 7
8/24/09 at 5:45pm
Thread Starter 
Hm... that it uses buttermilk may help make it more tender, right? It has 50% more butter and less flour, too. How do those proportions change the final product?

The icing is decidedly more chocolatey. The recipe I used didn't include melted chocolate.
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