12 Days of Christmas Cookies- Day 1

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Day One Friday, December 1, 2006

Black and White Tie

From Food Network Kitchens

(http://lyris.scrippsnetworksnewsletters.com/t/1612084/58874085/15151/0/)

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(http://lyris.scrippsnetworksnewsletters.com/t/1612084/58874085/15154/0/) A

New York classic gets dressed up for the holidays.

Recipe Summary

Difficulty: Medium

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Inactive Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 32 cookies

(http://lyris.scrippsnetworksnewsletters.com/t/1612084/58874085/15155/0/)

Ingredients

Oil, for brushing

3 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks, 8 ounces), softened

1 1/3 cups sugar

2 large eggs

3 large egg yolks

Chocolate Icing:

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

White Icing:

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons warm water

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush 2 baking sheets very lightly with

oil.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.

Whisk the buttermilk and vanilla together in a liquid measuring cup. Set aside.

Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.

Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat at high speed, until light and

fluffy,

about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after

each addition. At low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating

with the wet in 2 parts, beginning and ending with the dry to make a smooth

batter.

Evenly mound 2 tablespoons batter per cookie onto the prepared cookie

sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. (A small cookie scoop or ice cream

scoop

is ideal for this.) Bake until the cookies are golden brown around the

edges, about 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack and cool completely.

For the chocolate icing: Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring

the cream to a boil in a small saucepan; pour over the chocolate. Shake the

bowl gently so cream settles around the chocolate; set aside until the

chocolate melts, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth, taking care not to

incorporate too many air bubbles. Fill a piping bag fitted with a small tip

with about

half of the chocolate icing.

For the white icing: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice

and warm water together to make a smooth icing. Fill a piping bag fitted

with a small tip with about a quarter of the icing.

To Decorate:

For tuxedo cookies: Set the cookies on a rack over a rimmed cookie sheet.

Pour the white glaze over the whole cookie to cover; set aside to dry. Pipe a

bowtie and tuxedo lapel with the chocolate icing.

For a little black dress and pearls: Pipe an outline of a woman's dress

with the dark chocolate and fill in with more icing. Pipe white icing pearls

around the top of the cookie. Add silver dragees or candy pearls to dress up if

desired.

Let cookies dry completely, about 20 minutes. Serve.

Store cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to 2 days.