Holiday Cookie Face-Off: Mini Black-and-White Cookies

Dec. 12, 2005— -- Besides good cheer and presents beneath the tree, people share food during the holidays -- especially sweets. Cookies often are a favorite snack, especially considering that St. Nick is a cookie fanatic. Gourmet's Sara Moulton came to "GMA" to share some of the magazine's favorite cookie recipes. Now you can vote for your favorite online. The winner will be announced on Tuesday's show.

Makes about five dozen cookies
Active time: one hour. Start to finish: one hour

This is a miniature version of a New York favorite -- a cakey cookie with sweet half-moons of vanilla and chocolate icing.

Make cookies: Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two large baking sheets. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high until pale and fluffy -- about three minutes. Then add egg; beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and mixing just until smooth.
Drop rounded teaspoons of batter one inch apart onto baking sheets. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed, edges are pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched: six to eight minutes total. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Make icings while cookies cool: Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and two tablespoons water in a small bowl until smooth. If icing is not easily spreadable, add more water, a teaspoon at a time. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, a teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as vanilla icing. Cover surface with a dampened paper towel, then cover bowl with plastic wrap.

Ice cookies: With offset spatula, spread white icing over half of flat side of each cookie. Starting with cookies you iced first, spread chocolate icing over other half.

Cook's note: Once icing is dry, cookies keep layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment in an airtight container at room temperature for four days.

-- COURTESY GOURMET