In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, it’s the Resistance versus the First Order, the Dark Side versus The Light Side, good versus evil. What better way to showcase this enduring conflict than… the black and white cookie! Here, we’ve put some polish on a rustic New York favorite by bringing together the iconic symbols of the Resistance and First Order. Which will you choose?
Black and White Cookies
(a modified version of Zabar’s recipe from the Cooking section of the New York Times)
The cookies:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 stick (4 ounces) butter (room temperature) zest of one lemon, minced
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 t baking powder
- 1⁄2 t salt
- 1⁄2 cup plus 1 T milk
- 1⁄2 t vanilla extract
The frosting:
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1⁄4 cup (approximately) boiling water 1/2 t vanilla
- 1 T corn syrup
- 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a bowl, add both flours, baking powder and salt and whisk together. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a handheld mixer and standard bowl, cream the sugar, butter and zest. Add the eggs and stir. (The mixture may appear lumpy, but this is fine.) With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and stir until most of the flour mix is incorporated, then add the milk and vanilla and stir until the batter is smooth. Do not overmix.
Using a small cookie scoop, place level scoopfuls of batter on a parchment lined cookie sheet, leaving a few inches between the cookies, as they will spread. Bake for about 13 minutes, turning the tray at the half-way point to ensure an even bake. The bottoms and edges of the cookies should be a golden brown. They will be cakey and soft at first but will firm up as they cool.
For the frosting, boil a small pot of water (you will use 1⁄4 to 1⁄3 cup of that hot water to make your frosting; the rest you will keep at a simmer to heat the chocolate portion of your icing) In a bowl, add the confectioners sugar, vanilla and corn syrup. Pour the boiling quarter cup of water over the mixture and stir until it’s smooth and at a spreadable consistency. Place half the frosting into another bowl; place over the simmering water and add the cocoa powder. Stir until smooth and spreadable. Keep over very low heat until ready to use.
Note, for best results, frost and decorate the flat side of the cookies. Also, allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting.
Using a small metal spatula, or a butter knife, spread half of each cookie with vanilla frosting. Then, spread the second half with chocolate frosting. Allow to set.
Resistance/First Order Chocolate Decorations
(Note: Download and print the Resistance/First Order symbols stencil.)
Assemble your ingredients/tools:
- 2 piping bags
- 2 couplers and rings
- 2 small round piping tips (numbers 1 or 2) 1⁄2 bag of white candy melts
- 1⁄2 bag of dark chocolate Candy Melts
- 2 drinking glasses
- Baking parchment
In order to keep the chocolate in your piping bags soft and pliable, store them in drinking glasses — tip side down — on top of a warm oven (about 300 degrees) when you aren’t working with them. The ambient heat should keep the chocolate workable.
Melt the dark chocolate candy over a double boiler. Place a prepared piping bag in a drinking glass to act as a holder. Spoon in the melted chocolate. Place a piece of baking parchment over the printed stencil and outline all the Resistance symbol halves first and allow to set. (This will go on the light side of the cookie.) Next, melt the white candy melts; fill the second prepared piping bag as before. With the First Order symbol, you will need both white and dark chocolates. Outline the white chocolate lines, first, then fill in with the dark chocolate. (For the starburst portion of the symbol, you can choose to let the chocolate frosting from the cookie show through or fill with the dark chocolate candy.)
Once the chocolate decorations have set, remove them carefully from the paper with a thin metal spatula or butter knife. Dot a little melted chocolate on the back or rough side of each decoration, allowing the smooth side to show. Attach the chocolate decorations to the cookies, Resistance half symbol on the white frosted portion, First Order half symbol on the chocolate frosted portion.
Enjoy!
