@Danny Lamprey
Here’s the recipe. This recipe comes from Nancy Baggett’s The All- American Cookie Book. As the title of her book indicates it’s a collection of American cookie recipes. While I’ve not tried this specific recipe, I’ve baked a number of cookies from her book with great success. Her book uses volume measurement, but I converted the recipe to include both weight and volume measurements. Let me know if you have any problems with the recipe, and I will help you troubleshoot it.
I adjusted the creaming of the fat and sugar to ensure the finished dough is not overheated. Her recipe calls for softened butter, like so many recipes. And then it says you need to let the dough firm up. No surprise because soften butter is too warm to begin with.
I’ve also adjusted the mixing method to include proper scraping of sides and bottom of bowl to ensure the fat is incorporated. That way you won’t end up with gross streaks of fat in your dough. So I did try to troubleshoot some potential problems in advance. But let me know if anything goes wrong.
I included suggested brands of ingredients. Flour brand effects outcome due to bleaching and protein content. I only use cane sugar. If a package is not specifically labeled “cane” then it’s sugar beet sugar. Sugar beet sugar does not caramelize like cane sugar. All sugar beet sugar is GMO. And like most non organic crops, Monsanto’s Roundup is used. As a root, sugar beet can directly absorb the glyphosate. Proponents of Monsanto/glyphosate claim glyphosate doesn’t cause cancer and most of the glyphosate binds to the soil so very little gets absorbed into the root.
If you use volume measurement it is very important that you use the Dip and Sweep method to measure. That is the method that Nancy Baguette used for all of her recipes. In the Dip and Sweep method dip the measuring cup into the flour or sugar canister/bag and scoop out the flour/sugar. Then take a butter knife and level off the flour/sugar even the rim of the measuring cup. It’s especially important that the flour be measured in this way. This method will give you approximately 140 g per cup.
If you spoon the flour into the cup and level it off you’ll end up with approximately 120 g per cup. So you’ll be significantly short on flour if you don’t use the Dip and Sweep method.
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New York Black and White
Adapted Nancy Baggett
Cookies
3 cups (420g) all purpose flour brand such as Gold Medal or Pillsbury
Scant 3/4 teaspoon salt (regular table salt as book does not indicate otherwise)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/3 cups (266g) cane sugar brand such as Domino or C&H
1 stick + 3 TBSP (150g) unsalted butter, 60°F, cut in 2” cubes brand such as Land O Lakes.
1/2 cup (100g) white vegetable shortening such as Crisco
2 large eggs, cold
2 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoon light corn syrup
Scant 3/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1/3 cup (75g) sour cream
Vanilla and chocolate fondant
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
1/4 cup (60 ml) light corn syrup
5 cups (565g) powdered cane sugar, such as C&H, sifted after measuring plus more if needed
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 oz (60g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
Equipment for Cookies
- Stand or hand mixer
- Hand whisk
- Bowl
- Rubber spatula
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Wire cooling rack
- Offset spatula
Adjust rack to center of oven
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick baking spray.
Measure out all of your ingredients.
In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
In stand mixer bowl (or larger bowl if using hand mixer) beat butter, shortening, and sugar for 2 mins.
Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl. This is important step do not skip this step. Creaming fat and sugar is mechanical leavening. It is not about mixing ingredients. Scraping the sides creates air pockets throughout the fat.
Continue to beating another 2.5 mins.
Scrape sides and bottom of bowl.
The butter, shortening and sugar should become lighter in color and fuller in volume.
Add the cold egg, vanilla, lemon extracts, and corn syrup and beat until egg is incorporated.
Scrape sides and bottom of bowl
Add half of the flour mixture and mix until just blended in.
Add the sour cream and mix in.
Add remaining flour and mix until flour is just blended in.
The finished dough temperature should not exceed 68°F.
Let the dough rest for about 5 minutes.
With lightly greased hands, roll 1/4 cup of dough into balls. Gently press dough balls in 3 1/4” diameter on cookie sheet. Leave 1/2” between cookies.
Bake cookies one sheet at a time for 10 to 14 minutes. Rotate the sheet midway through baking.
Cookies are done when lightly browned at the edges and the tops should just spring back when lightly pressed in the centers.
Place the cookie sheet on a cooling rack and let stand until the cookies firm up slightly, about 2 minutes. Using a spatula transferred to the wire rack and cool completely.
To ice cookies, set the wire rack with the cookies over wax paper to catch drips. Prepare fondants.
FONDANT
Equipment
- Large saucepan
- Small deep bowl
- hot water
- Offset spatula
- Disposable piping bags*
- #3 round tip*
In saucepan bring the water and corn syrup to just a boil.
Remove from heat and stir in the sifted powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Please chopped chocolate in small deep bowl.
Pour 2/3 cup of hot vanilla fondant over the chocolate.
Stir until the chocolate is partially melted.
Pour another 1/2 cup of vanilla fondant over the chocolate.
Stirring constantly, then the chocolate to a fluid but not runny consistency by adding 3 to 4 teaspoons of hot water a little at a time.
Stir until the chocolate melts completely and the water is thoroughly incorporated.
If necessary, adjust the consistency of the vanilla fondant by stirring in additional powdered sugar or hot water until fluid but not runny.
Use immediately.
If fondant gets a little thick as it cools, thin by stirring in a few drops of hot water. If the fondant cools completely, rewarm it over low heat while stirring.
*The recipe suggests using a wide blade spatula or spreader. I would think you could use a disposable pastry bag with a small round Wilton tip like a #3 or #4. Seems to me that would be a lot faster and neater. Odd she suggests piping a center line with a fine writing tip, but she doesn’t suggest using a tip to ice the entire cookie.
After icing let the cookies set up
at least two hours and preferably four hours.
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