Dill Pickle Dip

A simple dip has been making the rounds the last couple years- salty, sour dill pickles in a creamy dip.  Some variations add some dried beef, or minced ham,  and I will scarf it down  for sure, but I  think I  prefer  the simple, meatless basic version from David Venable.

It does need to languish in the fridge for some time to let the flavors meld, but don't get too far ahead of yourself...  it begins to break down a bit ( the pickles begin to mush) about 24 hours after creation.

Use a mixer... in a mixer bowl beat  an 8 oz tub of softened cream cheese with1/4 c. sour cream until smooth. 

Next, chop up 2  cups of whole dill pickles... not  slices or  spears...the centers are flimsy. I like the smaller ones.   Use  a rubber spatula to fold it together.   Stick to whole pickles with lots of outside skin on them.  Fold in  1/4 c.  finely diced red onion, 1 clove shredded garlic, 2 TB minced fresh dill leaves, and then 1/4 cup pickle juice, or more to get the consistency you like.  Add some black pepper and  a couple small splashes of Sriracha.  Not really adding 'hot', just flavor.    Chill in its serving dish, at least 6 hours,  but see my  earlier warning about using it up!   Top with   fresh dill and a  bit of  chopped pickles  to  clue in your friends about the ingredients.

Best served with crisp salty bases, like  sturdy ridged potato chips, crackers, or pretzel  thins.  

Black and White Cookies- updated!

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Black  and Whites are a New York City tradition,   well  known and loved  on the east coast but  they never  really migrated  fully coast to coast.  Full disclosure  --  I never saw the magic of the popularity.  I have tried  several  over many  years, from bakeries and homemade,   and  always thought the chocolate and vanilla icing  made  them  visually interesting but generic tasting.   That's history now! 

 Two new variations on the recipe : adding  trendy-again  browned butter, and  fresh orange zest and flavoring -  make a world of flavor difference.  They're fast  and simple, and  the missing flavor emerged.  

Preheat oven to 350 and line flat cookie pans with parchment.

Brown  the butter: melt 5 TB salted butter on med-high heat, then simmer 3-4 minutes, not stirring, just wait til  the bottom looks golden brown.  Don't overcook!  If you do, start over.    Pour it into a small bowl to cool.      In another   smallish bowl, whisk 1/4c heavy cream, 1 egg and 1   egg white, the grated zest of 1 orange,and  tsp vanilla.  In the bowl of a standing mixer with a paddle, combine 1 3/4 c cake flour* with 1 c sugar, 1 tsp baking powder,1/2 tsp kosher salt..  With the mixer on low, pour in the cooled butter  and mix 10 seconds.    Still on low, pour in the cream mixture.  

 Drop mounds of dough onto parchment paper on a baking sheet. For about 36   2"  mini cookies, use 1 TB.     Double that for about 18  bigger cookies. Leave  3" between cookies.  Mini  cookies will bake in 8-10 minutes, bigger ones in 10-13 minutes. Don't let them brown at all,   bake only til the very edges  just begin  to look a bit brown.   Leave them on the pan for one minute to let them set up just a tad, then  remove to cool.   They'll stick to the pan if left on too long.   Cool on a wire rack.

When its time to do the easy icing, whisk  3 TB heavy cream with 2 TB white corn syrup, 1/2 tsp orange extract, and  2 to 2- 1/2 c powdered sugar. When smooth,  put half in another bowl and add  2 TB cocoa powder and 1 TB white corn syrup to that bowl.    Whisk til smooth.

IMPORTANT:  flip the cookies over before icing.  Then spread half of  each  cookie's  flat side   with  the two colors of icing.   The icing will harden after 20-30 minutes.

* to make cake flour, just mix 1/4c cornstarch well with 1 3/4 c  flour.