My plans for New Years Eve include dinner with friends and attending a party. A black-and-white themed party. According to the invitation, the dress code and food/snacks will fall into the color theme; drinks will not. Now, while I don't know that the host or hostess (one of them is my friend's coworker), I (obviously) offered to bring some home-baked treats. I asked my friend what she thought they might like - she said black and white goodies. Then she suggested black and white cookies.
This is not the first time my friend had requested that I make them, but last time I decided on mini-cheesecakes with individual crusts (for a NYC themed party she threw). So suffice it to say that when she suggested them again this time, I figured I'd take a stab at them...along with a few other black and white desserts (because when have I ever been known to make things simple for myself?).
The plan was to start with the black and white cookies. I figured they'd need the longest to sit and let the icing harden. But I needed to wait for the butter to come to room temperature. So while I was waiting for that, I started with the cheesecake brownies. Then I moved onto the black and white cookies. And lastly, the chocolate hazelnut crinkle cookies. I debated the crinkle cookies because they're covered in powdered sugar (and guests will be wearing either white or black - which does not look good when covered in powdered sugar), but ultimately decided to make them because (a) they are so perfectly black and white, and (b) I had been wanting to make these for a while and I finally had an excuse....er, I mean occasion.
Cheesecake Brownies - Top Row (from David Lebovitz, from Ready for Dessert)
Chocolate-Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies - Middle Row (from Epicurious.com)
Black and White Cookies - Bottom Rows (from Smitten Kitchen)
A few notes:
1. I made my brownies in a 9 x 9 pan. I recommend an 8 x 8 pan (I don't have one, which is why I used the 9 x 9). Also, I used dark chocolate chips in mine. I would definitely recommended using semi-sweet chips in them when you make them. Or leave them out entirely.
2. The crinkle cookies call for 1/4 cup whole milk. I only drink skim and the grocery store only had whole milk in half gallons, but I didn't need that much. Another recipe called for some milk, so I went with 2%. The cookies were fine with the 2%.
3. The chocolate icing for the black and white cookies was way too thick and almost impossible to spread. I ended up adding extra boiling water by the teaspoon until it was smooth enough to spread. I also added another drop of the light corn syrup. In the end I think they came out nicely (though not as professional-looking as those you can get in bakeries here in NYC).
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