Celebrate Halloween With Idaho® Potato Black & White Cookies

EAGLE, ID, October 16, 2017 — The Idaho Potato Commission has added the new Idaho® Potato Black & White Cookie recipe to its lineup of festive holiday treats.

Classic black & white cookies tend to stay moist for about 24 hours, which means they need to be eaten quickly before they turn brittle. Chefs are starting to discover the secret to baking soft and moist cookies that last much longer than the average recipe. You guessed it ... adding Idaho® potatoes to the mix!

When the starch granules in Idaho® potatoes are baked, they swell up with moisture and give the cookies a soft and tender texture, which lasts several days longer than the average cookie. They taste delicious, too!

Idaho® Potato Black & White Cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• 1 medium Idaho® Russet Potato
• 5-6 ounces of whole milk (use 5 ounces for thicker cookies or 6 ounces for thinner cookies)
• 6 ounces all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 stick unsalted butter at room temp
• 6 ounces granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg

For the glaze:

• 3 cups confectioner's sugar
• 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (use clear vanilla for the truest color)
• 3-5 teaspoons water, as needed
• Orange food color

For the decorations:

• Homemade or store-bought decorator's icing in white, orange, and black

Directions

For the cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Wash, peel, and cut potato into 1" pieces.
3. Place cut potato in saucepan with water, lightly salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes or until potato pieces are easily pierced with a knife. Drain, cover, and return to low heat for 5 minutes.
4. Line cookie sheets/baking pans with parchment paper and set aside.
5. Mash potatoes with a masher. Measure 2/3 cup (6 oz) of mashed potato and place in a bowl. Save the rest of the mashed potato for another purpose.
6. Stir milk into the reserved mashed potatoes and set aside.
7. Whisk the flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Set aside.
8. Whisk together butter, sugar, salt, lemon zest and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. 
9. Add the egg and beat until combined.
10. Mix in the mashed potato/milk mixture until combined, scraping the bowl as necessary. 
11. Add the flour/baking powder mixture all at once and mix on low until combined. Scrape the bowl. The texture of the batter should be similar to very thick cake batter. It should flow just a bit, but not be runny.
12. Portion cookies using a 2 oz scoop for large cookies or a 1 oz scoop for smaller cookies. Leave 2 1/2" between the cookies, especially if using 6 oz of milk in recipe.
13. Bake large cookies for about 16 minutes and smaller cookies for about 12 minutes. Rotate the pans and swap racks halfway through baking. The cookies are done when they are firm and barely starting to color on the tops and are a warm, deep golden brown on the bottoms.
14. Let cool on the sheets for a couple of minutes, and then carefully transfer them to racks to cool completely.

For the glaze:

1. Whisk together the confectioner's sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, salt, vanilla and 1 Tablespoon of water until smooth. (Add water in small amounts until you have a spreadable consistency that will smooth out upon sitting).
2. Scrape half the glaze into a separate bowl. Color 1 bowl of glaze with orange color. Using an offset spatula, spread half of all the cookies with the white glaze and let set for 5 minutes. Spread the other half of all the cookies with orange glaze. Allow the glaze to harden for at least an hour. 
3. Decorate as desired with white, orange, and black icing.

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About the Idaho Potato Commission

Established in 1937, the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) is a state agency that is responsible for promoting and protecting the famous "Grown in Idaho®" seal, a federally registered trademark that assures consumers they are purchasing genuine, top-quality Idaho® potatoes. Idaho's growing season of warm days and cool nights, ample mountain-fed irrigation and rich volcanic soil give Idaho® potatoes their unique texture, taste and dependable performance that differentiates Idaho® from potatoes grown in other states.