Genuine Black & White cookies are not cookies at all they are more of a puffy cake-like affair. The other thing is that it's only the icing that is black and white - the cookie itself is plain white. A quick web search reveals plenty of recipes for this all-time favorite of past and present New Yorkers - even the esteemed Zabar's has an online recipe. I'll reprint it here just for conversation's sake, but I am not at all happy about it. It comes close, but it's not exactly the stuff that dreams are made of. They got the icing right, though.
True afficianados of the B&W know that the one thing that makes cookies different from others is that under the frosting is a cake-like creation, not the hard, dried out crumb-buckets of your average cookie. The other distinguishing characteristic is that these are way oversized. If someone tries to give you a B&W that is less than 5" across, call the police because that is a crime.
Cookie:
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Frosting:
4 c confectioners' sugar
1/3 to 1/2 c boiling water
1 oz bittersweet chocolate
Preheat the oven to 375. Butter two baking sheets and set aside.
To make the cookies:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and butter. Mix with mixer or hand until fluffy. Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla and lemon extracts and mix until smooth. In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, and salt and stir until mixed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches, stirring well to combine. Using a soup spoon or ice cream scoop, drop spoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake until the edges begin to brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
To make the frosting:
Place the confectioners' sugar in a large bowl. Gradually add enough of the boiling water to the sugar, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and spreadable. Remove half of the frosting to the top half of a double boiler set over simmering water and add the chocolate. Warm the mixture, stirring, until the chocolate is melted and the frosting is smooth. Remove from the heat. With a brush, coat half the cookie with chocolate frosting and the other half with white frosting.
The icing is crucial to the finished product. It should be fluffly when you spread it on and it must dry to a very thin outer crust that collapses at the bite to reveal a still-fluffy interior. And, please - bittersweet chocolate only. If you are lucky enough to live in New Jersey, get on the Parkway and find the small but beloved Dixie Lee Bakery in Keansburg and pick up as many as you can for a mere 69c apiece. They are as close to the NY deli version as you can get.
Of course we'll serve black and white cookies on black and white dishes. This is the classic Stangl Lyric pattern. It's one of the most sought after designs, hard to find and pricey when you do come across it. But it is Atomic 50s perfection.
I ran into an interesting twist on an old favorite while eating my way through South America.
It was either in Argentina or Brazil that I was served Creme of White Asparagas Soup with a slice of dill pickle so artfully cut that the pickle was attached to the bowl like a paperclip. I'm thinking that this was most likely in Buenos Aires.
Posted by: Dave | November 10, 2003 at 06:46 PM
I always see them in coffee shops but I thought it was a regular hard kinda cookie. oh, i must try them. :)
Posted by: Branille | November 10, 2003 at 08:56 PM
Oh, Fantastic! I've been looking for a good recipe for these guys for years! Thank you so much... I can't wait to try them!
Posted by: scottobear | November 11, 2003 at 12:32 PM
i grew up in syracuse, new york and we called these "half-moon" cookies. different name, still dee-lish!
Posted by: lisa | November 11, 2003 at 04:27 PM
Is it possible for me to buy
B&W cookies from you.
Thanks in advance
Posted by: Bill Keyes | November 16, 2003 at 02:41 PM
If you want the black and white cookies to be cake-like, perhaps you should try baking them at a cake baking temp rather than a cookie baking temp, i.e. 350 degrees rather than 375 degrees.
Posted by: sarah | January 25, 2004 at 09:43 PM
this is what i needed....thanks
Posted by: Nick Hudson | June 02, 2004 at 11:05 AM
Ever try the Black and White Cookie Company?
They're at: http://www.blackandwhitecookies.com
Posted by: Jessica | February 28, 2005 at 09:12 AM