black and white cookies
Black and white cookies are the kind of New York City deli classic that I love recreating at home. If you’re not from around here, you might not have ever seen or tasted one, but that doesn’t mean you’re missing a whole lot. Nearly every one I have tried since setting foot in NYC in 2000 has rather disappointed. Because the cookie is really a cake, they get stale quite quickly, but this doesn’t convince deli and bodega owners to yank their plastic shrink-wrapped versions before they’re sold. Your best bet? Make them at home and wow all of the Brooklyn natives in the audience.
Back in the day, black and white cookies were actually made by bakeries from their leftover cake batters, with just a little extra flour mixed in so the cookie didn’t spread all over the place. Sometimes called Amerikaner Cookies, they’re also occasionally referred to as “half-moons” Upstate and in New England. However, with a chocolate cake base, not the traditional vanilla/lemon one, they’re not the same thing, not to split hairs or anything.
These days they have something of a cult following. I even ran across a blog entirely dedicated to tracking them down. But mostly, they were put back on the map by the famous Seinfeld episode where Jerry and Elaine are trying to track down the last chocolate babka in the city and he muses that black and white live so harmoniously on top of the classic cookie, perhaps people should “look to the cookie” to solve all of our problems. [Later in the episode he has indigestion and says he's "got David Duke and Farrakhan going at it down there."]
Old New Yorkers will tell you that you can learn a lot about someone by the way they eat a black and white cookie. Do you eat the light or dark side first? Do you nibble from both and meet in the delicious middle? Do you lick the frosting off and sometimes forget about the cookie that’s left?
Me, I go right down the middle, but then again, I’ve never liked to choose.
The Martha Show, 9/17/08: Andy Warhol once said that everyone gets 15 minutes of fame. Well, Smitten Kitchen got 15 seconds yesterday, and they were on the Martha Stewart Show, in an episode about blogging. What fun I had! Martha asked some questions and put up a screen shot of the current most popular recipe on this site, the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. I promise to plug in the video link as soon as it is up online. [And there it is!]
Other highlights of the day were meeting Mr. Matt Armendariz of MattBites.com baking his now-even-more-famous alfajores cookies with Martha. He was a total charmer, and as much fun to meet in person as you would expect. I also got to chat with the adorable Meg Frost from CuteOverload.com (OMG! PONIES!!1!) the whole show, which made it even better. I never got to ask Martha what I wanted to–namely, her favorite and least favorite things to cook–but there’s always next time, right?
After the show, Lisa and I tagged along with Matt as he went up to the Everyday Food Test Kitchen, which is seriously the most heavenly place. We had samples of [bleep] and [bleep] and also some amazing [bleep] that will be featured in upcoming issues, and are therefore top secret priority information, and hung out with the magazine’s really fun editors. I came out completely inspired to cook, as you can see above.
CookThink Interview: Hop on over to CookThink.com if you’d like to learn what my favorite food-related word is and my biggest kitchen fear, in an interview with me that they’ve published today.
Black and White Cookies
Adapted from a bunch of places, but mostly Zabar’s
Traditional black and white cookies are BIG and LOUD, not unlike the New Yorkers that made them famous. Preferring everything on the daintier side, I’ve made them very small before, but this time went for a nice medium size.
Yield: About 2 dozen very large cookies, 60 medium (I used a scoop 1 3/4 inches in diameter that yielded 3-inch cookies) or so many cookies that you might lose your mind frosting them if you go tinier. I’m just saying.
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup water
3 ounces very bitter or unsweetened chocolate
1 teaspoon light corn syrup.
1 to 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray, or line with parchment paper.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter. Mix by machine or hand until fluffy. Add eggs, milk and vanilla and lemon extracts, and mix until smooth.
3. In medium bowl, combine cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until mixed. Add dry mixture to the wet in batches, stirring well after each addition. Using a soup spoon, place heaping spoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake until edges begin to brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool completely.
4. Boil a cup or so of water in a small pot. Place confectioners’ sugar in large, heat-safe mixing bowl. Gradually stir in enough boiling water to the sugar to make a thick, spreadable mixture. Err on the side of caution because a too-thin frosting is hard to undo. Leave remaing boiling water on the stove.
5. Spread frosting on half of the flat side of each cookie. Once all cookie halves have been frosted, place the bowl of the remaining frosting over the hot water and bring it back to a simmer (creating a double-boiler). Stir in the bitter or unsweetened chocolate until melted, as well as the light corn syrup. At this point, depending on the chocolate you used and your preferences, you might find the chocolate color to be a little lighter than the “black” of a black-and-white cookie. If so, I find that a tablespoon or so of cocoa mixed in darkens the color nicely.
6. Ice the remaining half of the cookies with the chocolate frosting. I find that the chocolate–especially with cocoa in it–is especially prone to getting too dry, so don’t worry about whisking in an extra teaspoon of that hot water from time to smooth it back into a shiny frosting.
7. Let the frosting set. Store in an airtight container. These cookies keep for a few days, but I think they’re best on the first or second. Because of the cake nature of the bases, they can get stale quickly. However, this is really a non-issue as I have yet to make a batch that didn’t get polished off in no time.
I LOVE Amerikaners (didn’t know they were called “black & white cookies” I’ve only had them in Germany bakeries) - and those look amazing!! After I buy more eggs I’m going to have to try making them.
OMG you are such a DOLL! How fun to be on the MS show!!!
And I can’t wait to try these cookies….having never *gasp!* been to NYC myself, I would love to share in these wonderful treats, and get a little taste of the big city.
Oh, also, I get this error when I try to go to the interview link above:
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The proxy server received an invalid response from an upstream server.
The proxy server could not handle the request GET /CookThink.com if you’d like to learn what my favorite food-related word is and my biggest kitchen fear, in <a href=.
Reason: Error reading from remote server
Thanks — the link is fixed now.
Thank you for posting the interview link! I missed the first few minutes of the show and was bummed that I didn’t get to see you. It was great to see you as a person instead of hands attached to utensils. :) You seem just as lovely and entertaining as your blog.
That interview was fabulous!!!! I visit regularly and I’m very proud of you!!!
Watched the link.
You are so cute, but didn’t look like what I thought you would. I thought you were blond.
Glad you are getting some much, much deserved recognition!!!
Oh, YUM. I always eat mine right down the middle, too… I like chocolate more than vanilla, but the vanilla icing solidifies a little bit more than the chocolate and I like that texture better. So down the middle it is! I feel bad for my poor parents who not only had to cut the big cookies perfectly in half for me and my sister, but they had to cut them perfectly in half along a line perfectly perpendicular to the black-white divide. (Because otherwise there would be whining. Lots of whining.)
Now I really want a b&w cookie. Maybe this weekend I’ll make a batch.
Are you bringing these over tomorrow night? Mmmmm You said something about making cookies. You’re perfect.
For those of you who are only watching the video to see the every talented and beautiful Deb, she appears at about 5 minutes.
:)
Oh, and ofcourse: YAY!!!
deb you’re so cute and sweet.. the interview was awesome! I never baked before I stumbled across your blog! I’m still trying to find that 8″ cake pan for the chocolate peanut butter cake-it looks sooo good!
Thanks everyone!
Erin — I totally used 9-inch circles. I have two of those, and only one 8-inch round. It still comes out–as you can see in the pic–plenty tall. Now you can make it!
From an Upstater that grew up with Half-Moons– I have to take -slight- issue with the notion that a chocolate cake base is not “the real thing.” It’s a CLEAR case of improvement on the original (ok, maybe only for chocolate fiends). :) In any case, Deb, if you were making the (improved) chocolate base, would you just add cocoa powder (maybe a little coffee) to the base in place of the lemon extract? Have made them before with less than tantalizing results…
Hah. I recently did these for a party and made about a fijillion 1″ diameter cookies. That had to be frosted. Twice. Ugh. I was messing around with frosting for two days. But, in one bite you don’t have the existential “which side to start” with question, so I guess that’s something. Also, the frosting recipe I used had a little butter in it, which was great as I could just nuke it when it got crusty and carry on with frosting. And frosting. And frosting.
Deb you are too cute! And I’m totally making me some cookies this weekend!
A friend of mine just sent me your link b/c of my own Half-Moon adventure last week that I wrote about in my blog! Too funny - they were on everyone’s minds I guess! By the way - I eat mine right down the middle too.
Deb — I can’t access the YouTube link at work (they blocked it) but you are SO cute in the picture. I’m jealous that you got to be on the Martha Stewart Show! I have never been a huge fan of the black-and-white cookie but I’m going to try making it at home.
I’m one of those native New Yorkers who grew up with black-and-whites. I eat them right down the middle. But I wonder how Martha eats them…
these are my favorite kind of cookies. they remind me of old jewish bakeries aand my grandmother. can’t wait to make these.
I discovered you yesterday on Martha Stewart and I already LOVE your site!
Lord, I’ve been waiting for these…
; )
Would some lemon zest work as a substitute for the lemon extract?
Delicious! And you looked fabulous on Martha.
So cool to watch you in that clip from Martha’s show!! CONGRATS!!!
Thanks everyone for saying such nice things! I, uh, did not fret over my appearance one bit before the show. Not me!
David — Hee. It was more of a contest of who could slack longer before posting them. In a way, you won. ;)
Kate — Yes, I used that last time. I, for some reason, was totally offended by the idea of lemon extract. I hadn’t realized that you can buy good-quality, pure stuff that’s not in any way artificial.
I’ve never really had a black and white that wowed me, but I love Berger cookies from Baltimore, which are similar–just chocolate fudge (tons of it) piled on a cake-like cookie. I miss them now that I’ve moved out of DC. If you’ve never had them, I urge you to try some! http://www.bergercookies.com/order.html For a slightly better picture, see http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/3091/img2606jg1.jpg
These look so pretty! I’ve never had a black and white cookie before, but I want to try them.
PS I made your Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake the other day and just updated my blog with it. I was so incredibly amazing! I can’t say enough good things about it :)
I’m a long- time lurker, but I have to tell you how ADORABLE you were on Martha. I wish she would have had you come up for a demo. Next time. Teach Martha how to poach an egg, Deb-style.
You were the best part of the show and your site has given me many “keeper” recipes.
Thanks, Deb!
P.S.- don’t use Lindt white chocolate truffle bars for the salted oatmeal cookies. Tastes fine, looks BAAA—AAAD. Melty. My 82 YO Mom calls them “prairie cookies”.
i love black and whites and yours look amazing! i eat the vanilla first and save the chocolate for last, priorities here! and CONGRATS on the martha! you have the hugest smile and look so excited! i’m sure it must have been an amazing day. and OMG, to meet matt and perez, frikkin awesome!
You’re even more adorable in live motion than in your pics. Congrats on the show! A testament to your hard work, dedication, and love of food and life :)
So, my first taste was a “half moon” from Utica probably at age 5. And to this day (25 yrs later) I’m still stuck on the chocolate ones. Living in the Hudson Valley of NY, I mostly only run into vanillas, which always disappoint. I’ll have to try your recipe, though and perhaps I’ll convert. :)
When my friend and I were in NYC last month, she was on a never ending quest for the perfect B/W cookie, explaining the whole cake vs. cookie thing to me. I think the best one she found might have been in New Jersey.
Great job on the show!!! (and on the cookies - equally admirable!)
black and white cookies! WHEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
Btw, just to add some “color” to the black and white story, the bakery where I worked in high school used to make these cookies with different color frosted sides for big sports games. For example (just a random example you know), if the Giants played the Superbowl, they’d have blue or red and white cookies. It was actually pretty tacky, and sorely lacking in chocolate, imho.
I am so excited to see this recipe — I’ve been wanting to make B/W cookies for ages but have never found a recipe that looked like what I had in mind. I know this one will be IT! (BTW, I made your homemade Oreos for the first time recently—someone mentioned the recipe at a Cook’s Illustrated bulletin board—and were they ever a HUGE HIT. I’ve made them 3 times since then.) Thanks Deb!
congrats on the 15 seconds of fame!
these black and white cookies make me want some shortbread. is that strange?
Oh, almost the same as the Aussie neenish tart, ever the bakery staple here.
These look great!
We were so excited to see your gorgeous mug on the tube.
You looked amazing.
I’m so proud of you! Bravo!
Oh, Deb. That was really cool to see you on Martha… congrats on your 15 seconds.
I was waiting and waiting and waiting for you to make your black and whites. I ended up researching online to find a good recipe. I wish I had your recipe, that looks great! Unfortunately, my in-laws were here 3 weeks ago and that’s what the cookies were for. I’ll try yours next time.
I felt so famous one day when I saw that you were on Martha’s website and listed as a favorite blog by one (probably more) of the editors. I had been reading SK for awhile at that point, so I really felt like I found you before they did. I know that’s in my imagination, but it’s so cool to see so many people enjoy you, your words, your photos, and of course your food. YOU, my dear, are an inspiration. Now I’m going to go watch some Seinfeld…
you looked beautiful! and thank you for the interesting history of that cookie =)
these have always been one of my favorites. growing up in boston, we called them half-moons, but i’ve never had one with a chocolate base. that seems irreverent!
congratulations on your 15, and counting…
Deb, stop posting such DELICIOUS looking recipes, I’m supposed to be on a diet! (Well ok don’t stop, but you’re not helping me with my willpower! *grin*) Now I’m just going to have to make these this weekend! :):) Oh well, my friends and husband will appreciate them!
Wow blogging really is big over there!! We’re lucky to get mentioned in the local paper in Ireland:) Well done you, love the site and these cookies:)
Congrats on the Martha Show Deb! Wonderful. The Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake is the birthday cake I’ve requested this year. I was also given the 8″ pan excuse - no more! I’m looking forward to that cake!
Why “not the nicest association”? Being German (and not racist), I find that a little offensive - especially considering that it seems you haven’t read the whole of that blog post you linked to.
Cookies look delicious though.
You were soooo adorable on MS-I never watch the show-but DVR’d it just to see you! Good job! Love the idea of B&W cookies!
Can you suggest a good way to ship these? I am always trying to come up with East Coast themed gifts for my west coast friends. I don’t mind shipping them overnight but how would I package them?
thanks
I just made and posted about black and whites!! Except, mine are gluten-free. Although my recipe only made 8 instead of 2 dozen. You’re are, like usual, BEAUTIFUL! Nice work!
My gluten-free version of black & whites
These look just FANTASTIC!!! I can’t wait to give them a try. Thank you for sharing.
I love to try recipes with cult followings. I learn that most are usually something that one has had to have grown up eating in order to earn an honor that is lost on ‘outsiders.’ I’m orig. from the DC area and have never knowingly had a Baltimore Berger cookie, which is similar (well, kinda sorta) and famous in MD. I spent time in Utica, NY and never tried a Half Moon and I’ve never been to NYC to know the B&W even had a home. So..except for the lemon cookie paired with chocolate..(I just don’t get citrus with chocolate) I want to try these with an extra boost of vanilla. Will that qualify as a try?
Deb,
You were lovely on Martha! I actually watched the video because I knew Rachel of Coconut & Lime was there, and there you were. And how funny, I had no clue how popular this blog is. It’s funny how we all have our favourite blogs and never think that other people might like them too. Should have guessed from the number of comments, perhaps. Anyway, how exciting!
I’m soooo happy for you that you got to be on Martha. It would be my dream come true. Your recognition is well deserved. Thank you for blogging for us. You always inspire!!!
You’re the best!!
Congrats, Deb, you look all calm and composed, and you are right there talking to Martha, nerves of steel, woman!
Of course, we are going to need some behind the scenes pics soon.
yay! congrats! bloody hell marthas looking good for almost 70 hey!
My favorite cookie, ever! I make it all the time. Yay for Martha!
Love, love, love the black & whites, although I’ve never gotten around to making them. Congratulations again on your Martha appearance!
Thanks everyone! It was fun.
Eva — I had not read that through. Big apologies. I have removed the link.
So, I cannot believe that you posted this recipe on the eve of my moving back to Dallas, TX from Manhattan. My husband, 2-year-old son, and I have been living here for the past nine months. When we first arrived, we stayed for a couple of weeks at East 52nd, only a few blocks from Tal Bagels. The very first black and white cookie I ever ate came from Tal. Not only was it the first, it was also the very best I’ve come across in NYC. I was addicted. I ate one and sometimes two a day. They are some of the best baked goods I’ve ever eaten — and I’ve eaten a lot. Cakey, yet not too cakey, fondanty, but not too chewy, subtle hints of lemon? Vanilla?
We moved to Battery Park City (a veritable culinary wasteland) shortly thereafter, and I searched desperately for a replacement B&W. Let me tell you, there are none to be had. Tal ruined me! (Zabar’s are close, but have a slightly processed taste to me.) So, I’ve made the long trek numerous times back to Tal to get the “good ones,” and, in desperation, I even baked a batch at home. I used the recipe from Epicurious.com, with some minor tweaking. (I contemplated the Martha one, but wasn’t so sure.) Still not as good as Tal, but better than any of the dry, tasteless impostors around here. Anyway, to make this long story short, I plan to try your recipe. Hopefully, when I move back to Dallas next week, I’ll get a little taste of NYC to go along with my Tex-Mex.
I have always wondered about the origin of the B&W Cookies. There is a place in Houston that makes them but I guess I’ll just have to test this recipe out and compare. It will be a hard job, eating cookies and seeing if Houston gets it right.
The taste test will have to wait a few weeks but I’ll make sure it gets done when I get home.
These sort of look like the ricotta cookies I made once.
I will have to make these. - SOON - I LOVE B&W’s and agree that there are far too many disappointing ones out there.
The German Amerikaner cookie now makes sense. I never gave much thought as to why my local german bakery calls their B&W’s Ameriakaners, I just ate them. And this also ties in to the to-die-for cake cookies (with confectioner’s frosting only) that my german grandmother makes. I’m very far from home and I think making these will bring me a lot closer to home.
I have been in NYC for three years and I have never eaten this cookie, despite my longing. They look good, but you’re right, the bodegas never reassure me. But, I have to make them and try them. I think this is the best way. Congrats on your Martha appearance.
Thanks for the recipe! These look so yummy! I am going to try them!
It was great seeing you on Martha yesterday. I made sure to set my DVR in case I wasn’t around to see it. I want to be just like you when I grown up (haha Im 28) haha. I visited your website on a daily basis and love your photographs. I have a link bookmarked to photographs that I plan to purchase from you for my newly painted yellow kitchen.
Happy Cooking!
i am sooo excited to see this recipe. i fell in love with them when i was in NY and can’t wait to make them… i haven’t had one in dallas that has come close.
You looked great on Martha.
Also, best news ever: I got an ice cream maker! ($15 from the classified section) I’ve got lots of ideas. Dulce de leche would be great, but seriously, one pound of dulce? If I get a pound of the stuff it might have to go to different uses.
Congrats on your Martha apperance! Looks like you had a great time. Thanks for the recipe, can’t wait to try them this weekend :)
I LOVE the quintessential Black & White cookie - yum!! And hooray for you being on ‘Martha’!!! I enjoyed seeing you and other bloggers :0)
“The best of both worlds”……I juts had t say that, name that quote. I missed you on Martha! Hopefully I will catch the rerun. Great cookie!
i love this cookies!!and i must try this my self!!yummy!!
I lived in Syracuse for a while and always thought the half-moons were an Italian tradition. I have NEVER heard the part about them being a way to use up cake batter! I feel like you’ve handed me the Rosetta Stone!!!
I never really loved these because they are big, soft, dry and bland. I like little, snappy cookies. However this post brings back a lot of memories of how beloved these were to the locals I knew. The local Wegmans grocery bakery had them sometimes but it seemed like that was more prevalent in the fall and around the holidays.
Oh yes! I love black and white cookies! There’s a local bagel shop near me that only makes them on Saturdays and if you don’t get there early enough you don’t get one. These will be made! And eaten! And enjoyed!
growing up in boston, the half-moon cookies my grandfather bought us always had a vanilla cake base. i’ve never even heard of a chocolate based one until now. it’s true that nyc delis stock tons of dry, stale versions that pale in comparison - yuck. i look forward to trying your recipe, they look divine!
Hi Deb,
you said that non-NYers might have never heard of these cookies,…
Well actually they are quite commen here in Germany and, yes, they are called “Amerikaner” (meaning “Americans citizen” in German). Rather then selling them in a half black and white color you can buy either a black Amerikaner or a white one. :-) I love them and I can’t wait to try the recipe you’ve posted!
Congratulations on your stardom!! It was a great episode and so exciting to see you up there!!!
Also: I love cookies. I love all cookies. I now have a new cookie that I will soon be loving ;)
You looked great on Martha’s show! I am sure you were thrilled to be there. Congrats!
Congrats Deb! I must admit, I fast forwarded through all the talking to your interview segment. The suspense was killing me! :) As has been said 80 times, you looked fabulous. Glad you had a wonderful time!
Um, how freaking fantastic was it meeting YOU? Hello? Sigh. You’re gorgeous.
I need this cookie in my life right now.
Deb, you are gorgeous! I don’t think the photo on your home page does you justice. Also can’t wait to try the cookies.
What is cake flour and where does one buy this?
Nice Martha appearance!
Yay! You posted the recipe! My whole family has an obsession with black and white cookies because of that Seinfeld episode, and I’m always bringing them back home with me or shipping them to people because you can’t find them anywhere but here. Next time I get a request, I’ll just point them to your site. And I had such a BLAST running around town with you on Wednesday–we definitely need more days like that in our lives!
Loved you on Martha!! That is super exciting:)
Congrats on your TV spot!
I <3 black and white cookies. I grew up in D.C., but both sets of grandparents were in NYC. I’ve seen some B&W’s in the cafes in Columbus, OH (where I now live), but nothing beats homemade. I amazed my family with your oreo recipe. I think this one’s next up.
I watched from home! It was such a great episode and I was so incredibly jealous of all of the blogger audience members who got to be there to see it live. these cookies look yummy.
I double them being quite common here in Germany – either black or white or half and half like you made them. Funny, I always thought they were rather boring (not even disappointing, as I never had this one “perfect” encounter the others couldn’t reach up to) and therefore never thought of recreating them at home. Or even thought of them being anything ANYone would actually make at home. But seeing yours, I might just as well give them a try!
Congratulations! I saw the show - and was surprised and happy to see you! I felt like I was watching an old friend! And you looked fab - were you nervous? If so, it didn’t show! I would have been tongue-tied a million times over! Your blog deserves all the attention it gets - it’s phenomenal and clever and fun and always motivating for me. Nan
learned about you on he show, congrats!
thanks so much for this recipe. my boys love b&w cookies and now we can make them by the dozen…. hooray!
For some reason, I thought black-and-whites were a Baltimore thing?
I have the show on my DVR…congrats!
It was great to see you on Martha! I was born and raised in New York, but haven’t really had much of this cookie; looks yummy, so i’m gonna give this a shot this wknd! That Seinfeld episode was so funny too…
I can’t wait to try these! Thank you! But if you’re ever in the mood for just buying them, go to Greenberg’s bakery on the UES . . . they’re heavenly! We included them in our out of town bags at our wedding, along with bagels from H&H for a “best of NYC” theme. We got more compliments on the OOT bags than on the wedding cake!! =)
finally
FINALLY !!!
I’m so excited to try this recipe for the B&W cookie! They are definitely one of my favorites. And that Seinfeld episode was (is) one of my favorites. You looked fabulous on Martha!
My (displaced New Yorker) husband noticed this post over my shoulder yesterday evening and begged me to make these for him. Mine came out a little chewy and flat (not as cake-like as I would have hoped), but I’m a novice baker and probably overmixed to get everything together.
I made a version from Epicurious that I really liked, but I’ll definitely give this one a try. They look fantastic. Congrats on your Martha fun!
I’m from upstate New York where we grew up on half-moon cookies, but these look truly yummy. I can’t wait to try the recipe.
Congratulations on the Martha show! I know one reason you had so many visitors for the peanut butter cake, other than of course it looks delicious. You were posted on Digg.com and had a lot of Diggs.
Those look good. Actually here in Germany Amerikaners are pink and white cookies. Still the same, just iced differently.
I am a New Yorker and have been eating these since I was little……great cookie!!!
these are the best cookies when fresh, awful when stale or done badly. yours look delish.
Lovely cookies! As a New Yorker — specifically a Brooklynite — I take black-and-whites very seriously, and I’m with you on loving the middle part of the icing.
Fantastic job on Martha!!!! Congrats!!!
This is classy. It’s like a yin and yang, two face design job here. It’s great.
Beautiful cookies! That’s twice in the last week that I’ve run across black and whites after a lifetime of not knowing about them. Yours have such a glorious sheen to the frosting.
Wow, black and white cookies! I grew up in New York on the south shore of Long Island. Every week my German mother would go to the butcher and then to the bakery. Black and whites were a regular part of my life (as were hard rolls and a good bakery rye bread.)
Black and whites were sold in the supermarket in New Hampshire where I lived for 25 years and I bought them for my kids but they just weren’t the same.
Now I live in South Florida and I haven’t seen them or any variation of them here at all so I’m glad you posted this recipe. Think I’ll make them and send some to my adult children in Vermont!
I grew up in S. Florida( Ft. Lauderdale) and we ate these a lot. They’re my most favorite cookie. I was born in NY though as were the majority of folks who lived in the area where I grew up. I’m coming to NYC at the end of October. If you had to name your favorite place to buy a FRESH black and white, where would it be?
These cookies are a childhood favorite of mine! I have always ate mine down the middle, I’m an indecisive person so this works out best for me!
Just brought the peanut butter chocolate cake to a church function…twenty other desserts to compete with and it was polished off in five minutes. BEAUTIFUL. thank you for posting that recipe!
Deb - I made these cookies today! I’m sending them to my best friend who is away working for Obama in Indiana - thank you so much!
I was so happy to see you on Martha because otherwise I would never have known about your blog. Also I love black and whites!! You are right,they always taste best at your favorite NYC deli. Now if you could only could find a recipe for Bergers cookies,my favorite Baltimore cookie
My husband turned to me on Friday and said. “Jeni, we really need some delicious black and white cookies.” Thanks for getting that telepathic message, Deb.
I have the same apathy for black and whites that I have for street pretzels here, but after reading your recipe I might have to reconsider that position. Congrats on your 15 seconds of fame!
I made these tonight, and they were dead easy till I got to the chocolate frosting part. Why did my chocolate frosting harden up unattractively and look like melted chocolate when yours looks all shiny and pretty? What did I do wrong? I had to use dark corn syrup instead of light because I was out of light…could that have done it? Doesn’t seem like it would.
Hi Bethany — My chocolate did seize up a bit as I worked with it, so I kept whisking in extra tablespoons of the hot water (I mentioned this briefly in step 6), which kept it smooth. If you added any cocoa for darkness, it is then especially prone to getting hard. Also, keep in mind that I only take pictures of the prettiest ones, of course. The three I ended up icing with the uneven, grittier frosting were sent immediately to … Testing Services. Ahem.
These sound divine …I hope I can give it a try for Christmas !
Deb, this black and white cookie recipe was something I had been wanting to try baking. My husband and I made them this weekend! My question is the butter/sugar/milk/eggs/extracts really didn’t “blend” very well at all. In fact, I threw out a batch thinking that my eggs or milk had spoiled. The second time around (after purchasing new eggs and milk) came out the same. But once I added the flours/salt/baking powder, it was all good. Is there a reason why that happens in the beginning?
Another question, my cookies did not rise at all. They were very flat (but still very tasty) and I’m wondering if I would have added more baking powder if they would have risen more?
Any help would be appreciated.
Great blog and congrats on your MS appearance. I’m so jealous!
Nancy, I had the same thing happen, and I felt silly after realizing why. You bring the butter to room temp, and then when you add the cold milk and eggs it goes back to being cold and chunky butter, so if you bring all the wet ingredients to room temp before combining you should be in good shape.
Oddly enough, Martha has a recipe for these in this October’s Living. She puts butter in the frosting, and while I was making yours I was wondering if I should put some in, but I try to not mess with recipes before I’ve tried them once. So, Deb, I was wondering if you’ve done the butter thing before, and how it compares.
Deb, thanks for answering! I was looking at the recipe on my laptop on the other side of the kitchen so I wasn’t probably reading it as closely as I would have if I’d had an open cookbook in front of me. I’ll try adding more hot water next time if I have that problem. The good news is, even though the frosting is gritty it still tastes good. :-)
Hi there.
I’ve been reading your site for a bit now, ever since I went on hunt for the best macarons recipes. Yours was helpful, by the way, but I eventually had to figure out how to fix my 7-tries-problem myself as no one else seemed to have the same problem.
Anyhow, I just wanted to say I love this site and consider it the best recipe oriented food blog out there. It’s well written, entertaining even when I just read the post without really caring for the actual recipe and the actual recipes are thought through and useful. Love it!
Well deserved recognition!!!!!!! You are fantastic and I am so excited to see great things coming your way. Cook on!
One of my favorite foods! Thank you for the recipe! And congrats on Martha!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I grew up in upstate NY and lived in NJ for 2 years up until July, when I moved to Miami. I just realized a couple of weeks ago that they do not sell/make/bake black and white cookies here, which almost caused my world to collapse. I will be making these cookies ASAP, and by the way, they look a lot better than a lot of the bakery versions I’ve seen (and tasted) before. Although Stop ‘n Shop in NJ did sell a pretty decent cookie.
Love this recipe! I was hoping you could recommend some substitutions for me - I want to make these cookies without dairy for my brother (horrible milk allergy) but I am not sure what to replace the milk with, because sometimes soy milk doesn’t cook well. Do you have ideas for the butter, milk, and chocolate? Thanks!
Congratulations on Martha’s show! You are pretty. Loved the updo!
I have made these blacka nd white cookies before. Another recipe obviously and I thought they were kind of yuck. They were harder than I imagined. So your post for me was pretty enlightening. Thank you.
I make these whenever I’m homesick for NY!
Oddly enough, when I’m back in NY, the ones I find are never as good as the ones in my memory, but I haven’t trekked up to Zabar’s to try this.
I usually use Molly O’Neill’s recipe in her New York cookbook.
Actually, I think Molly O’Neill uses the Zabar’s recipe I have above! I guess everyone agrees that they’re awesome.
I made these yesterday (after being kid-on-Christmas-excited for a week), and they are deeevine — and half gone. :) My only issue was that the cookies didn’t spread as flatly as I think they’re supposed to, so they were a little on the difficult-to-ice side since the bottoms were slightly domed. Could that be from accidentally tossing in too much baking powder?
This recipe also gave me the inspiration to try out my own lemon cookie (lemon-zesty icing, anyone?!), so thank you! I’m happy to be back in the kitchen.
i was wondering if this recipe makes that classic fudgier chocolate side or if it’s the same sort of crackly glaze as the white side only with chocolate flavor? anyone?
I was so excited to try this recipe and they turned out amazingly delicious. The only downside is that my co-workers now hate me because they literally can’t keep their hands out of the cookie jar. Love your blog!
lose look divine! Can’t wait to try them
THANK YOU!!! I have never had one of these but I am hosting a Bridal Shower for my future SIL and it is a Black and White theme. I wanted to make these as favors
I’d been DYING to make these cookies b/c the pictures look so amazingly tasty! Everything went well until i tried to make the white frosting… it came out clear and when i spread it on the cookies it just soaked in. What did I do wrong??? :(
Hi Priya — If the cookies were completely cool when you iced them and you used standard powdered/confectioner’s sugar, I am a bit stumped as well. Those are the only two things that I think could lead to the icing just being clear–or perhaps too much boiling water was added? That could make it too thin, and absorbent as well.
Sorry all, but I wasnt impressed with these cookies. I’ve had the real deal B&W from NYC. There’s something missing from the “white,” perhaps vanilla? Either way, they’re yummy, just not the classic we were hoping for.
You are a bush leaguer when it comes to half-Moon history. First of all they originated UPSTATE; where the chocolate cake is and always has been optional.
First off, I’ve been dying to find a recipe for b&w cookies, and I Stumbled! on this site, so it was a great find. The cookie itself was easy enough, but I somehow managed to make the frosting too thin (the vanilla…too much water) and too thick at the same time…I’d guess it was the chocolate I used (as it was a bit old)…but I’d definitely try it again!
Here in Australia they are called nienish or neenish tarts, and they aren’t cookies, they are true little tarts with a cream and raspberry jam filling. I think the name is derived from Dutch. Since your version is a New York delicacy, I suspect it may have a Dutch derivation too.
Hi Deb,
Do you think I can substitute the light corn syrup with maple syrup or honey? Thanks!
I have never tried with other sweeteners, but I’d love to hear if it works. Do let us know.
Hi Deb,
A friend and I just finished baking these (I admit, we haven’t gotten around to frosting them yet and I already have a question!), and our cookies turned out very thin. They’re definitely not as thick and cakey as the ones in your pictures or others I’ve seen/tried. Do you know why this might be? Thanks!
Ack! I don’t know if you’ll respond in time so I might end up doing this trial and error. I’m making these right now for my MIL and I’m stuck on the first step. You said to add sugar. Do you mean both the granulated and confectioner sugar or only the granulated, as the other is for icing?
Worst case scenario, I end up making a second batch successfully. :)
-Jessica
Just use the granulated sugar first. The confectioners’ is just for the icing. I can totally see how that is unclear. Good luck!
I figured it out on my own, but thank you. Hopefully that question will clear it up for someone else who is confused. The second batch (my oven is too small to cook all at once) is cooking now. They look fantastic so far. Thanks!