Red Velvet Black and White Cookies

EVEN THOUGH this recipe is from Rachel Ray, who I am not a fan of, I encountered it in one of my favorite blogs, Joy the Baker, and at her insistence I went for it. I kept reading about how fabulous black and white cookies are and the colors on this one made me go for it. I love red + black + white. Plus I had some buttermilk I needed to use. BONUS!

Review-- an interesting recipe to try but not a keeper. I was not comfortable with the amount of dye that I was ingesting in one cookie. I like the idea of it, and definitely want to make the traditional Black and Whites.

Here it is...

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used unbleached)

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder ( I used Dagoba, and added an extra tablespoon)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

5 Tablespoons butter, softened (I used unsalted)

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 Tablespoon red food coloring

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease and flour the pan well so the cookies don’t stick. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

Using a mixer, beat 5 tablespoons butter with the granulated sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, food coloring and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk until smooth.

I had some issues with the amount of red food coloring I had to use. I had a brand new little jar of the Wilton's Christmas Red food coloring gel, and used most of it! Maybe I was naïeve going into it. I almost never use any artificial ingredients, and when I started out I was adding tiny bits at a time, but ended up using a teaspoon. You will use more that you think.

Place 1/4-cup scoops of batter 2 inches apart of the prepared baking sheet, spread the batter out with a butter knife. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies sit for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.

For Vanilla Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

1 Teaspoon light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I substituted for the innards of 1 plump vanilla bean)

For Chocolate Glaze

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

3 Tablespoons butter (unsalted again)

1 Tablespoon light corn syrup

To make the glazes-

In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (again, I used a bean), 1 tablespoon of corn syrup and 2 tablespoons hot water, until smooth. That’s your vanilla glaze.

In a separate bowl, melt the butter and the chocolate in a microwave for about 1 minute. Add the corn syrup and stir until smooth. That’s your chocolate glaze!

Once the cookies are cooled, face them all bottom side up of a clean surface. Spread half of the cookie with vanilla glaze and the other half with chocolate glaze. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set.