America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo
Blogger Spotlight

Sally’s Baking Addiction Bakes Better Black and White Cookies

These New York City staples become homemade fare with help from our new cookbook.
By

Published Oct. 16, 2017.

Sally’s Baking Addiction Bakes Better Black and White Cookies

Portable, fun to make, easy to gift, and open to countless flavor variations, cookies are everyone's favorite sweet treat. In the test kitchen's first all-cookie book, The Perfect Cookie, we've created a one-stop shop for every cookie recipe you could want, from simple side-of-the-saucer snacks like Shortbread Cookies to intricate treats like Italian Rainbow Cookies and holiday cookies like Peppermint Candy Canes. Each of the 250 recipes are kitchen-tested to not only work, but to exceed expectations every time. And with almost 25 years of experience baking cookies and bars of all kinds, we've also provided all the tips and tricks for executing perfect cookies every time.


 

If anyone can get you excited about making cookies it’s Sally from Sally’s Baking Addiction. After receiving a copy of The Perfect Cookie she couldn’t wait to share the Black and White Cookies recipe with her readers, who have long awaited a recipe for this bakery favorite.

In the book, we spill New York’s best-kept secret with these huge, tender cookies. These cakey cookies are flavored with vanilla and sport a two-toned coat of icing—half chocolate and half vanilla.

...The Perfect Cookie is any baker’s bible. It’s the book for the baking nerd in all of us.

To create a black and white cookie worthy of its iconic status, we started with a basic creamed batter, then swapped in sour cream for the milk to add tenderness and rich flavor. We made a simple glaze with confectioners’ sugar, milk, vanilla, and corn syrup that formed a crisp shell as it dried yet stayed creamy underneath. Creating the chocolate glaze was as simple as adding cocoa to the vanilla glaze.

Sally's advice when making our recipe for Black and White Cookies? "Don’t be too concerned if the tops are a little bumpy because the tops actually become. . . the bottoms!! The flat undersides are much easier to frost."

Our recipe helped Sally make a showstopping version at home. 

“Large and in charge, these gigantic cake-like cookies are much easier to prepare at home than you think," she writes. "What I love most [about The Perfect Cookie] and what I know you’ll appreciate as well—is the comprehensive break-down of each recipe. Why it works, how it works, tips, tricks, lessons, troubleshooting, and more. It’s the book for the baking nerd in all of us.”

The Perfect Cookie

We aggregate many years of cookie baking knowledge, breaking down key steps and recipe techniques in this comprehensive cookbook that features recipes for any cookie you can dream up—from favorite cookie jar classics to new and unique cookies, brownies, bars, and candies for any occasion.  
BUY THE BOOK

What’s your favorite cookie? Let us know in the comments! For the recipe for Black and White Cookies, read Sally’s post. And for more from The Perfect Cookie, read these posts:

This is a members' feature.