Black-and-White Cookies for Passover? Yes, Please
For many New Yorkers, the black-and-white cookie is as much a symbol of the city’s we’ll-get-through-it-together spirit as a press conference by Governor Andrew Cuomo. As Jerry Seinfeld famously said of the shortbread concoction, with its half-chocolate, half-vanilla icing: “Look to the cookie!”
Arguably, no one makes these cookies better than the classic New York bakery William Greenberg Desserts, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. So it was good news to learn that the bakery, which has been closed during the novel coronavirus pandemic, will be briefly bringing them back for mail-order for the upcoming Passover holiday. William Greenberg’s owner, Carol Becker, is temporarily reopening her kitchen to offer such Passover specialties as macaroons, flourless chocolate cake, and apricot tortes. To be kosher for Passover, desserts cannot be made with flour, so Becker found a work-around for the black-and-white cookies by substituting potato starch and matzoh cake meal. Orders can be placed at William Greenberg Desserts through the end of the day on April 4 and will be shipped out on April 6, with options for one- or two-day delivery for arrival by the start of Passover on the evening of April 8.
Meanwhile, for those who are up for some baking while social distancing, Becker has generously provided her recipe below (the non-Passover version appears in The William Greenberg Desserts Cookbook).
PASSOVER BLACK-AND-WHITE COOKIES
Note: Matzoh cake meal is finer than regular matzoh meal. Be sure to seek it out for a fine-textured cookie.
Cookies
1¾ cups potato starch
¾ cup matzoh cake meal
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ cup margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
Icing
2/3 cup granulated sugar
½ cup water
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar*
½ tsp. fresh lemon juice
½ tsp. vanilla extract
3½ oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
*To make Passover confectioners’ sugar, pulse 1½ cups granulated sugar and 2 Tbsp. potato starch together in a food processor.
Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk the potato starch, matzoh meal, baking powder, and salt.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or working with electric beaters and a large bowl, beat the margarine and granulated sugar together on medium until creamy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat until well combined, 2 to 3 minutes; the mixture will look curdled. Stir in the almond milk. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
Drop the batter using a 2-oz. cookie scoop (or a ¼-cup measuring cup) 2 inches apart onto the prepared sheets. Bake, one sheet at a time, until the tops are dry and spring back to the touch when lightly pressed, about 15 minutes. Cool completely on the sheets on wire racks.
Make the icings: In a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and ½ cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
Put the confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Bring 2 tablespoons water to a boil in a saucepan or microwave and add to the bowl, along with the lemon juice and vanilla. Stir until smooth. The white icing should be a spreadable consistency, neither runny nor stiff. If the icing is too stiff, stir in the sugar syrup, a tablespoon at a time, until soft enough to spread.
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water or in 20-second increments in the microwave. Stir until smooth, then allow to cool slightly. Add the sugar syrup, a tablespoon at a time, until the chocolate is soft enough to spread; it will initially firm up, but loosen again with additional syrup. Spread the flat sides of the cookies with white icing on one half and black on the other half. Let stand on a rack until the icings set.
Make ahead: The cookies can be made five days ahead. Store in an airtight container.
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