Thursday, December 8, 2011

Cake Boss Cookies - Week 11 of the 12 Weeks of cookies

The one on the bottom left is the best one I made.
   So we are getting so close to Christmas that I am going to be so busy making cake balls that I wanted to try a few new recipes before then.  Don't get me wrong I love making cake pops and balls, but I wanted to try new things on this blog and share, so that is what I am going to do today.

  A few weeks back we went and saw Cake Boss, you can check out the pics there.  We got his new baking book, and there are a lot of good things in it, but a lot I cannot see myself doing. Only because a lot of them have nuts, and with Hubby being allergic, I cannot bake with them when he is home.  It bothers him.  So fine, for him I will put off the nut stuff.

  I looked for something simple, but different and I set myself on these Black and White cookies.

Black and White cookies
From Baking with the Cake Boss, by Buddy Valastro

3/4 cup plus 2 TBSP Sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 extra large eggs  ( I always use extra large eggs)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 TSP pure vanilla extract
1/8 TSP fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 cup cake flour
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 TSP baking powder
1/4 TSP salt
1/4 cup water
2 cups icing sugar
2 TBSP semisweet chocolate chips or 1/2 ounce semisweet chocolate chopped
My son helped measure out everything so he wanted to be in the picture.
And without the boy.

Pre heat oven to 340 degrees ( 315 if you have a convection oven)

-cream butter and sugar
-add, one egg at a time, mixing for one minute between each egg
-add milk, vanilla and lemon juice and mix until just incorporated
-sift together both flours, baking powder, and salt
-add the dry ingredients to the wet until the mixture is smooth and fully absorbed
The batter was like water before I added the flour, I had to double check I had not messed up.  I hadn't I just had to be patient.  I am not patient, be forewarned.



-scoop the mix onto parchment lined cookie sheets, 1/4 cup of mix at a time, leaving a few inches for them to spread
I only got 11 cookies, but I think my scoop was a bit too big.

-bake until light golden brown, about 18 minutes
Not perfectly round, but what can you do.
-as soon as the cookies are firm enough to move with a spatula, move to a cooling rack, cookies will continue to bake if you leave them on the cookie sheet
-once fully cooled, but them on a plate and into the freezer while you make the icing, at least 10 minutes, they must be firm so they do not break when you frost them

Frosting
-use a double boiler or a bowl on top of  a pot of hot water and bring the 1/4 cup of water to a boil
-when water in the top of the double boiler is boiling whisk in the powdered sugar
-mix until uniform and smooth
See this it too thick, I got impatient and added a bunch more icing sugar, and it was too thick to work with .  Follow what the recipe says, it works better.
-working one cookie at a time, take a butter knife or a spatula and spread the icing over half of the cookie
Okay so I tried to spread on the icing, and that was a fail, so just dribble it along the top and it will run all over the cookie and run off.

-if the icing gets thick or clumpy put it back over heat and whisk until smooth again
-once all cookies are half iced put the double boiler back on the heat and mix the chocolate into the remaining icing
So what I would do is mix the icing right before each cookie and  drizzle the cookie.  The icing set really quickly.

-ice the other half of the cookies, and let them dry, which takes very little time

These are the better ones, sad I know.

Those ones on the left I tried to spread the frosting.  Letting the frosting drizzle down was much better.

  They keep up to 3 days in an air tight container, but since you only get 12 cookies, they will not last that long.

  And I had planned to keep these all for myself, but I ate one and had to lay down, the amount of sugar made me sick, very sick.  I have to really learn to stop that, silly me.  So I packed them up for work, I kept one for me to eat over the next few days.
All packed up for work, so I don't make myself sick again.  Sigh they are so good.

  I also think if I want to make them again, which I will, I will make them with a small cookie scoop and make them much smaller.

  I found the actual cookie to be like a nice thick lady finger cookie, not too sweet at all, but the icing, oh that icing sure packs a sugar punch.  So good!

  Give them a try, I mean they are Cake Boss cookies after all, they have to be good.  And these are big, so they would be perfect wrapped up with a nice gift tag.

  And to make a gift tag, I will get a little crafty again, but just a little.

  I used my shape punch and just cut out some pattern paper and wrote on it.  Then punched a hole in it and tied it on with curling ribbon.  Very simple and home made all the way.




IhookedupwithHoHlamespice

14 comments:

Katrina said...

I think your cookies look great! I've never tried black/white cookies. I like that these look cakey rather than like a sugar cookie.

Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust said...

I've been wanting to make black and white cookies for awhile. These are really pretty and look so good!

The Poet Herself said...

I didn't realize the Cake Boss made cookies! ;) Thanks for your insights. It helps to see what people went through in making a recipe.

Michele said...

First of all I am jealous you got to visit Cake Boss! Lucky! I also have this book and have not made anything from it yet. The cookies look awesome. Black and white cookies happen to be my favorite cookie.

Unknown said...

LOL it was neat to meet him, it was a long wait though, and the cookies, amazing. Nothing like any other cookie I have ever made. Thanks for the comments:)

Nanna said...

your cookies turne dout fantastic!great pictures!
Helen

Connie Mercer said...

they look so good!!!

Unknown said...

I've always wanted to make black and white cookies! Yours look fantastic!

Maggie said...

If you frost the flat part of the cookie - which is how they're traditionally done - the icing won't run off as much.

Unknown said...

Thanks Maggie, I didn't have a problem with the icing running off at all, it was just too thick and set so fast:)

Alyssa said...

I love black and white cookies! I never thought of making them before, I will have to try to make these

Tracy said...

Your cookies look great! We tried to go to see the cake boss, waited for an hour and the line didn't move. Plus we got a parking ticket. Argh.

Unknown said...

Oh no, it was about 2 hours I think before we actually moved but no parking ticket. That is so sad:( he was so nice, it was worth the wait.

Rebecca @ Herons Crafts said...

I keep seeing these everywhere! A must try I think - your recipe looks fab and the cookies so yummy!