Friday, February 13, 2009

Red (or Pink)-and-White Cookies


This plump confection is a Valentine's Day take on a New York classic, the black-and-white cookie. I love the black-and-white. The original recipe appeared in Oprah’s O magazine. I had to make a couple changes. I love the look of these, but I could not bear the thought of biting into the red portion and having no red flavor. By red flavor I am referring to a raspberry or strawberry flavor. The original just called for the red part to be the same flavor, but dyed red. So I modified the frosting to kick out the red food coloring and add pureed raspberries. The color is pinker than the original, but the taste is so much better.

Makes 18 cookies (or 36 smaller versions)

Cookies:

· 3 cups all-purpose flour

· 1/2 tsp. baking soda

· 1/2 tsp. baking powder

· 1/2 tsp. salt

· 1 3/4 sticks butter

· 1 1/4 cups sugar

· 2 large eggs

· 1 large egg yolk

· 3/4 cup buttermilk

· 1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

· 1 Tbsp. freshly grated lemon zest

Frosting:

· 4 cups confectioners' sugar

· 1/4 cup milk

· 1 Tbsp. heavy cream

· 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

· Red no-taste gel food coloring

2 Tbsp raspberry puree (puree raspberries then strain out the seeds, reduce to half by simmering over heat)

To make cookies: Preheat oven to 350°. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Scrape down the bowl and add eggs and egg yolk one at a time, beating briefly after each addition. Scrape down the bowl again, and turn mixer to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the buttermilk in 2 parts. Scrape down the bowl; add vanilla and lemon zest, and mix on low speed for a few more seconds.

Using an ice cream scoop (about 1/4 cup), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets spaced about 3 inches apart (6 cookies per sheet).

Bake for 17 minutes, rotating sheets between oven racks halfway through, until edges are golden brown and tops spring back when gently touched. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes, then remove cookies and cool on racks.

To make frosting: In a large bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, milk, and cream and vanilla. Pour half of the frosting (about 3/4 cup) into another bowl and add the raspberry puree.
If mixture is too thick, add a little more milk (by the teaspoon until desired consistency is reached) to either color.

Use an offset spatula to spread red frosting on half of the top of each cookie. Let stand until almost set, 20 minutes. Using a clean spatula, spread white frosting over unfrosted half of each cookie. (If the frosting thickens up during the process, whisk until loose.) Let set completely, about 1 hour.

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