The other day I stumbled upon a list of the best black & white cookies in NYC. So of course I immediately started planning which day I would eat my way through black & white heaven. Halfway through this plan, I remembered the fun little fact that I like baking things, oh, that. So the plan became, make lots of mini black & whites and then eat them all.
If you have somehow never had black & white cookies, I am so sorry. They are just the most amazing little drops of deliciousness. Well, actually, in most cases they are very large drops of deliciousness, but that really isn’t important right now. What IS important is that everyone should try these, they are amazing, and this particular recipe is WAYYYY easier than I would have expected.
If you HAVE had black & white cookies before, you will be pleasantly surprised by how well these stand up to the classic. The cookie itself is perfectly cakey. It is as if a cake and a cookie had a really delicious baby. I want to say the cake part is bouncy, but that seems like a weird thing to say about a cookie, but it WAS bouncy, in a good way. The taste was the perfect flavor to balance the icing and the perfect consistency. Just overall, top notch black & white.
I should add that I am super tough on my baked goods, meaning, I often talk sh*t about the things I bake. For instance, I might say that the cake I recently made is good BUT it could use _______, or maybe those cookies were OK but next time I will make sure to do________ and then they will be really good. You get the gist. So for me to say that these were fan-freakin-tastic is saying something. There is nothing that needs improving. I loved them, I could not stop eating them, and I also couldn’t stop bragging about them.
Ok, enough chitchat, let’s get down to black & white. These little guys are perfect as a make-ahead item, they still taste amazing the next day (even 2 days later if you somehow manage to not eat all of them at once).
Can’t decide which side of the cookie you like best? YOU DON’T HAVE TO CHOOSE, just eat one right down the middle! It really doesn’t get any better than that.
Mini Black & White Cookies
Equipment
- Hand or Stand Mixer
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1¼ cups All-Purpose Flour
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- ⅓ cup Buttermilk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 6 tbsp Unsalted Butter softened
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 large Egg
Icing
- 1½ cups Powdered Sugar sifted
- 1 tbsp Light Corn Syrup
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tbsp Water
- ⅛ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Instant Espresso
- ¼ cup Cocoa Powder sifted
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350º F
- While the oven is preheating, prep 2 baking sheets. I used a nonstick silicone mat (like this one), but you can also just use some parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Using either a stand or hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy.
- Add in the vanilla and egg, mix until well combined. Make sure to remember to scrape down the bowl to ensure everything gets well mixed.
- Next, alternate between adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the butter/sugar/egg mixture in 3 additions. That means, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/3 the buttermilk, add another 1/3 of the flour, another 1/3 of the buttermilk, and then add the final 1/3 of the flour, and the final 1/3 of the buttermilk, mixing in between each addition just enough to combine. Do not over mix or the cookies will be tough and gross.
- Use either a teaspoon, a cookie scoop, or a pastry bag to portion out the cookies, I used a 1.5 tsp scooper. Then place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart.
- Bake the cookies for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the edges begin to turn a golden brown/ the tops spring back when pressed gently.
- Remove from oven, let sit for a minute before transferring the cookies to a cooling rack. Cool completely.
Icing
- While the cookies cool, prepare the icing.
- Begin by whisking the confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, salt, and water together until smooth.
- Separate the mixture into 2 bowls. Take one of the bowls of icing and add in the espresso powder and cocoa powder, whisking until smooth.
- Feel free to add a few drops of water to the chocolate icing until it is a spreadable consistency. For me I had to add probably a tablespoon of water, in total, maybe more, to get the icing the right consistency.
- The icing should be thin enough that it spreads easily, but not so thin that it is runny. If the icing seems to thick or dry, just add more water a half teaspoon at a time. If you add too much water, no problem, just add more confectioner's sugar 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Once the cookies are completely cooled, flip them over so the flat sides are up.
- Use an offset spatula or knife to spread vanilla icing on half of the cookies. Clean the spatula, and then spread the chocolate icing on the other half.
- Once done, let the icing set for a few minutes, this is when I just stared at them because they looked so good. Once the icing is set, dig in!
- Leftovers (if there are any) can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.
