February 29, 2012

black and whites.

Rainy days are meant for staying in and baking.
I hope you will not judge me and agree.

The black and white cookie has always been one of my favorites. I really can't resist when they are fresh from a New York bakery.

The recipe below will make much more than what is shown. Fair warning: once you put them out, they will be devoured. 

So on this rainy day, I made these little ones and they were all that I hoped they would be. Delicious.

I used this recipe from a Newsday article circa 1997. 
Seriously.

Cookie Recipe
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
5 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, mix until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. 
Add half of flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir lightly. 
Add milk until just combined. 
Add remaining flour mixture and combine until just mixed. Do not over-mix.

To make my cookies mini-sized, I dropped small scoops of batter (little less than a tbs) on a parchment-lined baking sheet and baked for about 10 minutes. 
For larger cookies, use a soup spoon and bake for 15 minutes. 
You want to bake them just until the edges start to brown. Allow to cool before icing.

Icing Recipe
white glaze-
3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk

Combine sugar, vanilla, and milk and mix until smooth.
You can add more milk if the mixture is too thick, 1 tsp at a time, until it is just spreadable.
(You do not want to add too much liquid or the glaze won't set.)

black glaze-
3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
6 tbs unsweetened sifted cocoa powder
1/2 cup cup milk

Follow the same steps as the white glaze, this time add the sifted cocoa powder and increase the milk to 1/2 cup, again you can add more milk if it is too thick.

Frost the vanilla half of all the cookies first. After frosting the chocolate, make sure to allow the cookies to dry until the glaze sets.

Enjoy!



February 27, 2012

for my sister.

"Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up.
They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all you were intended to be."



Life gets rough and I have had many downfalls to prove it.
And I can be a tough older sister.
But I want you to know, it is truly love.
I push you because I want you to be the best.
The smart, beautiful, and lovely girl I know you are.
Never give up on your dreams and never let anyone bring you down.
You're amazing.


Love you always.

February 26, 2012

sweet moments.

some phone snapshots from the past few days...


1. walk by the water
2. swans in the sound
3. cookie class at the Institute of Culinary Education
4. ultimate movie marathon, 5 Oscar nominees in a row
5. I love reading Splenda packets
6. brownie pudding. it's amazing. recipe from Ina Garten, here.

February 24, 2012

hello.

Funemployment. 

Definition being: The condition of a person who takes advantage of being out of a job to have the time of their life.

I never thought that I would find myself in this situation. Never. Ever. 

Yes, it is liberating and fun, but so confusing and quite scary. Nevertheless, I am taking advantage of this "free" time to figure out life as best as I can and become the woman that I desire to be. 

You never know where life is going to take you and that's the best part of it.

Cheers to a new start and a new blog :)


 William Shakespeare sums it up right.