it don't matter if you're black or white

along with about a hundred others, i've had smitten kitchen's recipe for black and white cookies bookmarked for quite a while. i'd tried these for the first time last year during our trip to NYC and loved them. a lot. and when i realized that we didn't have any cookies in the house, i decided it was time to give it a try.

noting that the recipe yielded 60 freaking cookies, i cut it in half. butter and sugar, creamed together:

i'd not even known that such a thing as lemon extract existed. i always figured you could use lemon juice or zest. and this shit ain't cheap - $6 for this tiny little bottle. ack.

since i'd splurged on the extract, i bypassed the cake flour and searched online for substitutes using all-purpose instead. and i found that if you take some out and replace it with cornstarch, it works just fine:

as i continued mixing up the batter, i was a little alarmed at how goopy it was.

but once i added the dry ingredients, it firmed up nicely.

i dropped big ol' dollops onto my baking sheets and stuck the pan into the oven. again, i fired up the little convection oven vs. the big one that would heat up the entire house. it took longer, because i had to do smaller batches, but it wasn't awful. and i'd rather keep the house cooler and work a little longer than, well, the opposite.

look how pretty the cookies turned out! slightly puffy, with a cake-y texture and a perfect little hint of lemon flavor.

the frosting goes on the flat side of the cookies, so i flipped them all over.

the base icing contains two ingredients: powdered sugar and water. i mixed it up quickly and frosted the first half:

then, per the instructions, i added a little corn syrup and a bar and a half of unsweetened chocolate. as it melted, i was a little worried about the grainy consistency.

but all i had to do was add a little more hot water, give it a stir, and that gave it a lovely, smooth, glossy finish.

look at this pretty cookie!

and i gotta say, they taste as wonderful as they look. i'm sort of glad i cut the recipe in half, and sort of not - they're so yummy, but i can't stop eating them. heh. and they were a hit with the teen and the hub, too.

i think i need another one. right now.