Indiana isn't known for a whole lot in the way of baked goods, but fortunately, the Colts' blue and white color scheme gave me an easy jumping off point for some Super Bowl eats for Colts' fans. A quick adaptation of a New York Classic turned out a batch of Blue and White cookies. The more familiar Black and Whites have a lightly lemony, cake-like cookie with a chocolate and vanilla icing coating the top. This version omits the lemon and uses a bit of almond extract in its place to enhance the vanilla flavor of the cookies. The confectioners' sugar icing is simply dyed using food coloring, but a generous drizzle of white chocolate would work well on these, too.

Blue and White Cookies
(a superbowl variation on Black and Whites, originally from Cooking Light)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, then set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy, then beat in the egg whites, followed by the applesauce and vanilla and almond extracts. Stir in flour mixture until batter is smooth and no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix.
Drop batter two tablespoonfuls at a time onto the prepared baking sheet, forming 2-inch in diameter rounds.
Bake for 10 minutes, until set but not browned. Cookies should spring back when lightly touched, like a cake.
Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing:
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, divided
3 tbsp milk or light cream, divided
1 tsp vanilla extract
blue food coloring

When cookies are cool, prepare the icing. Sift confectioners sugar into a medium bowl and stir in milk and vanilla until smooth, but thick. Divide icing in half and add blue food coloring to one. Using a small knife and working over the bowls to catch drips, spread each icing over half of each cookie. Set on a rack until icing is set, then store cookies in an airtight container.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.