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Once the cookies have cooled completely, place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside. Place the water and corn syrup in a medium saucepan set over medium heat, stirring constantly at first until the corn syrup dissolves and then not at all until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the confectioners’ sugar until fully dissolved. Pour half this mixture over the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate has dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Stir the remaining 2 teaspoons vanilla into the remaining sugar mixture in the saucepan.

Frost half of a cookie top with the vanilla icing and the other half with the chocolate icing, making a straight line right through the diameter of the cookies that divides the icings. For colorfast reasons, it’s best to work with the vanilla before the chocolate. If possible, use two spoons or spatulas, one for each icing. Should either icing become too stiff while you’re working with it, put it in a medium bowl that will fit securely over a saucepan with about 1 inch of water brought to a boil over medium-high heat; stir over the heat just until the icing softens.

Almond Sugar Cookies

Good for dunking, these buttery, eggless cookies ride the line between crisp and cakey. Makes about 24 cookies

1¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cool unsalted butter, cut into chunks

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

¼ cup packed light brown sugar

½ cup finely ground blanched or slivered almonds

¼ teaspoon almond extract

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Beat the butter, ¼ cup granulated sugar, and the brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until light, fluffy, and creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary. Beat in the ground almonds and the almond extract.

Turn off the beaters, add the prepared flour mixture, and beat at low speed until a soft dough forms with no dry pockets of unmoistened flour.

Lightly dust a clean, dry, smooth work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Gently press the dough into the shape of a deflated tire, then lightly dust it with flour. Roll to ¼-inch thickness. Dust with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. (If your work surface isn’t large, divide the dough in half and roll each half separately, sprinkling each half with 1 tablespoon sugar.)

Cut the cookies out with a 1½-or 2-inch round cookie cutter, keeping the circles close together because a second rolling of the scraps will yield tough cookies. Transfer the rounds to a large, ungreased baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart.

Bake until lightly browned, just until the tops are set, about 10 minutes.

To cool: Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 2 or 3 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

To store: The cookies can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Variations: Add ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg with the salt.

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon rum extract with the almond extract.

Mix ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar before sprinkling it over the rolled-out dough.

Press a blanched almond into the top of each cookie before baking.

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Greased, Ungreased, and Lined Baking Sheets

Pay close attention to how the baking sheets are prepared. Some cookies need to be baked on a lined sheet to protect them from the heat, but others will spread and become overbaked at the edges. Some cookies need a little barrier of fat between them and the heat to get crisp bottoms; others will simply burn.

For the recipes in this book, silicone baking mats and parchment paper are interchangeable.

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Snickerdoodles

Shortening gives these classics a light crunch with a soft interior. Butter would turn