Everything you love about the classic NYC staple but in bar form!
I’m sure most of you have heard of the Black and White Cookie. While they’re known as a New York City staple, growing up in the Pacific NW, they were still one of my favorite cookies as a kid. I mean, what child WOULDN’T be in love with a sweet vanilla cookie covered from edge to edge in vanilla and chocolate icing??
However, I’ve come to realize that the Black and White Cookie can vary widely from place to place. In fact, up until my first visit to NYC a couple of years ago, the cookies I had were more like traditional sugar cookies–soft, chewy, and not the least bit cakey. When I tried my first NYC B&W, I was surprised at how cakey and thick it was in comparison to the ones I’d grown up eating. Come to find out, B&W’s aren’t even cookies (gasp!). They’re technically “drop cakes,” which in my opinion sound like a flat cupcake.
But whether you call it a cookie or a flat cupcake, I think we can all agree that the B&W wouldn’t be as iconic if it wasn’t for its perfect proportion of vanilla and chocolate icing. (Don’t worry, I’ll spare you the infamous Seinfeld quote.) It’s unlike any other cookie because there are so many ways to go about eating it. Do you eat the chocolate side first and save the vanilla side for last, or vice versa? Or, do you like to get both chocolate and vanilla in one bite? Fascinating stuff, I know.
So while I do enjoy a classic B&W from time to time, this week I decided to change things up a little by making it into a bar instead.
Hopefully these B&W bars don’t offend any of you New Yorkers out there. Sure, they may look vastly different from your traditional B&W cookie, but they still have all of the delicious qualities you love!
The vanilla cookie itself is soft, cakey, and thick, but not too thick. As a matter of fact, my first batch ended up being WAY too thick, resembling a yellow sheet cake, rather than a cookie bar. It tasted great, but it looked more like a cake than a cookie. So with my second attempt, I reduced the ingredients to cut down on the thickness. I will admit that it’s a little tough evenly spreading the batter out in the pan, but at least it makes up for the fact that you won’t have to ice each and every bar individually like you would with a normal B&W cookie!
Speaking of, I wanted the icing to be thin enough to be considered icing, yet thick enough that I could cover these bars with a substantial amount. All I did was melt a little butter, whisk in some vanilla and cream along with ample amounts of powdered sugar, and voila! The sweet vanilla icing was ready to beautify these bars.
Well almost…
Before I could frost these babies, the all-important chocolate icing had to be made. So to make the chocolate icing, I just removed about a 1/3 cup of the icing, and whisked in some cocoa powder and a little extra cream for smoothness.
Once the cookie sheet had cooled completely, I slathered on a luxurious cloak of vanilla icing. To add some style to that cloak, I transferred the chocolate icing to a piping bag fitted with a medium-sized round tip (a zip-lock bag with the tip cut off also works), and piped lines from one end to the other leaving about an inch between each line. Then I took a skewer, and dragged through the lines of chocolate icing, alternating going up, then down, then up, and so on. If this sounds as confusing to you as it does to me as I write this, do whatever your wild and crazy mind desires!
I know that this icing technique creates an imbalance of vanilla to chocolate icing, so if you prefer chocolate icing over vanilla icing, feel free to switch it up! There are no rules when it comes to baking.
Aside from their fluffy softness and perfectly moist crumb, what I love most about these bars is that no matter where you start, you always get the ideal ratio of white to chocolate icing in every single bite. Not to mention, how mesmerizingly chic they look…
Black and White Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Cookie:
- 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 7 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup sour cream
Icing:
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 6-8 Tablespoons milk or cream divided
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, followed by the vanilla.
- Add half of the flour mixture and half of the sour cream. Mix on low until just combined. Add the remaining flour mixture and sour cream, and continue mixing on low until combined. Spread batter evenly into the lined baking pan. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes.
- Make the icing: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the butter and vanilla together. Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar along with 4 Tablespoons of milk/cream. Whisk in the remaining powdered sugar and 1-2 Tablespoons milk/cream. You want it to be smooth, yet spreadable--not runny.
- Remove about 1/3 cup of the icing to a separate bowl. To the 1/3 cup of icing, whisk in the cocoa powder and 1-2 Tablespoons of milk/cream. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip, or a ziplock bag with the tip cut off.
- To Assemble: Spread the white icing evenly over the cookie sheet. Pipe the chocolate icing in a line from one end to the other. Keep piping lines about an inch apart until you reach the bottom. Using a skewer, drag across all of the lines, alternating directions from up to down.