Black And White Triangles Recipes

BLACK-AND-WHITE TRIANGLES

Steps:

• Prepare 2 batches of basic shortbread, one plain and one chocolate; for chocolate, sift cocoa powder with the flour and salt.
• Form each dough into a disk; wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour (or overnight). Roll out plain dough to 1/4-inch thickness; roll out chocolate dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Place plain dough on top of chocolate dough. Cut into 1 1/2-by-3-inch triangles; refrigerate 20 minutes.
• Bake on a cookie sheet until firm and just starting to color, 20 to 25 minutes.

DARK- AND WHITE-CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD HEARTS

Steps:

• Dark-chocolate shortbread: In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt. Beat butter on medium speed until creamy; add confectioners' sugar and beat until combined, then beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic, flatten to a 1-inch-thick disk, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
• White-chocolate shortbread: In a bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Beat butter with white chocolate on medium speed until creamy; add confectioners' sugar and beat until combined, then beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic, flatten to a 1-inch-thick disk, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
• Remove both disks from refrigerator; let stand 10 minutes. Roll out dark-chocolate dough 1/8 inch thick between two pieces of floured parchment. Stamp out heart shapes with largest cookie cutter; transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather dough scraps, reroll, and stamp out more heart shapes with largest cutter. Freeze cutouts until firm, about 15 minutes. Repeat with white-chocolate dough.
• Stamp out smaller hearts from larger ones, starting with second-largest cutter and working down to smallest cutter; transfer cutouts to parchment-lined sheets. Freeze cutouts until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Starting with smallest cutouts and working up to largest, fit together dark- and white-chocolate cutouts like puzzle pieces. (It's okay if dough cracks or breaks in places; simply press back together as necessary.) Arrange completed hearts 1 inch apart on fresh parchment-lined baking sheets. Freeze again until firm. Working in two batches, bake cookies, rotating sheets and rack positions halfway through, until dry and firm, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

BLACK-AND-WHITE BAKED ALASKA

Steps:

• Make almond meringue disks:
• Preheat oven to 250°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using 3 1/4-inch-diameter can as template, outline 8 circles on each sheet of parchment. Turn parchment over on baking sheet (circles should show through).
• Using electic mixer, beat whites in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean. Gradually add sugar, beating until meringue is stiff and glossy, about 5 minutes. Fold in ground almonds. Spread 1 rounded tablespoon of meringue in each circle on parchment, forming disks about 1/4 inch thick.
• Bake meringue disks 1 hour. Reverse position of sheets and bake until meringues are pale golden and almost firm to touch, about 45 minutes longer. Cool meringues on baking sheets. Carefully peel meringues off parchment.
• Arrange 8 meringues on clean baking sheet; top each with second meringue. Top each stack with scoop of sorbet (don't press; disks are fragile). Cover with foil; freeze while making vanilla meringue or up to 2 days.
• Make vanilla meringue
• Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl until soft peaks form. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean. Gradually add sugar, beating until meringue is stiff and glossy, about 5 minutes. Transfer 1/3 meringue to pastry bag fitted with medium star tip.
• Place 1 dessert on work surface (keep remaining desserts in freezer). Pipe meringue over sorbet. covering completely. Return to freezer. Repeat with remaining desserts, adding more meringue to pastry bag as needed. Freeze until meringue is firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 500°F. for 30 minutes. Spray large baking sheet with non-stick spary. Transfer desserts to prepared sheet. Bake until meringue is just tinged with brown, no longer than 2 minutes.

BLACK-AND-WHITE HALVAH

Steps:

• Lightly coat an 8 1/2x4 1/2" loaf pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2" overhang on long sides. Place a sheet of parchment paper on work surface and lightly coat with nonstick spray. Beat white tahini and 1/2 tsp. salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low speed just until smooth.
• Meanwhile, place 2/3 cup sugar in a small saucepan and remaining 2/3 cup sugar in another small saucepan. Add 1/4 cup water to each saucepan and set both saucepans over low heat. Cook, stirring with a rubber spatula to dissolve, about 4 minutes. Keep 1 saucepan over low and increase heat to medium-high for other saucepan and fit with thermometer. Cook syrup, brushing down sides of saucepan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve any crystals, until thermometer registers 248°F, 7-10 minutes.
• Immediately remove saucepan with boiling syrup from heat. Increase mixer speed to medium and gradually stream syrup into white tahini, aiming for the space between the sides of the bowl and the paddle. Beat just until halvah comes together in a smooth mass, less than a minute. (Do not overmix or it will be crumbly.) Working quickly, scrape onto prepared parchment and flatten with spatula until 3/4" thick. Invert a medium bowl over halvah to keep warm.
• Rinse any hardened sugar off thermometer; clip to second saucepan. Increase heat to medium-high and cook syrup, brushing down sides of saucepan with wet pastry brush, until thermometer registers 248°F, about 4 minutes.
• While the syrup is cooking, briefly beat black tahini and remaining 1/2 tsp. salt in the same bowl of stand mixer (no need to clean it out unless you have lots of hardened sugar stuck around sides) until smooth. Stream in syrup and mix just until halvah comes together in a smooth mass.
• Uncover white halvah (it should still be warm) and scrape black halvah on top; flatten to about the same shape as the white halvah. Using the sides of the parchment to lift edges, fold stacked halvah in half and flatten slightly. Repeat folding and flattening motions 4-5 times, rotating halvah as you work, to create a marbled effect (be careful not to work it too much or mixture will be crumbly). Press into prepared pan. Fold sides of parchment paper over top of halvah and let cool, at least 3 hours.
• Lift halvah out of pan using parchment overhang. Peel away parchment; cut halvah crosswise into 1/2"-thick slices.
• Do Ahead
• Halvah can be made 3 days ahead. Leave in pan. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.

BLACK-AND-WHITE-AND-GREEN COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk baking powder, 2½ cups flour, and 1½ tsp. salt in a medium bowl to combine. Pulse mint and granulated sugar in a food processor until mint is finely chopped. Add butter; process to combine. Add dry ingredients and pulse again to combine. Add egg and egg yolk; pulse until a shaggy dough forms.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead just until dough holds its shape. Divide dough in half; pat each portion into a 1"-thick disk. Wrap disks in plastic and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°F. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper to about ¼" thick, dusting with more flour as needed to keep from sticking. Punch out rounds with lightly floured cookie cutter and arrange on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1" apart. Pat dough scraps into a 1"-thick disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 10 minutes if soft. Repeat process with scraps.
• Hold a bench scraper or straightedge upright 1" from edge of a cookie to cordon off a shallow semicircle (do not press down into dough; you're just making a barrier). Coat semicircle with sanding sugar; gently press to adhere. Remove scraper; you should have a tidy sugared edge. Repeat with remaining cookies and more sanding sugar.
• Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and back to front halfway through, until edges are lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to 2 wire racks set inside 2 rimmed baking sheets; let cool completely.
• Sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a medium bowl. Add corn syrup, a pinch of salt, and 2 Tbsp. warm water and stir until smooth and glossy.
• Position bench scraper to make another shallow semicircle on the other side of the cookie, angling it so that it forms a V with the sugared edge, lightly pressing scraper into cookie to make a barrier. Spoon 1 tsp. glaze onto exposed semicircle and use a toothpick to help coat evenly; excess will drip over sides. Lift scraper straight up and over chocolate side to create a neat edge. Repeat with remaining cookies and glaze. Let sit until glaze is set, at least 2 hours.
• Do Ahead: Dough can be made 1 month ahead; freeze. Thaw in refrigerator before using. Cookies can be baked 1 day ahead; store tightly wrapped on a rimmed baking sheet at room temperature.