Black and White Cookies

[breadmama]

Does anyone have a light recipe for these wonderful treats? I know they are popular in New York, and Martha Stewart did a feature on them. We can only find them at our Starbucks cafes in Michigan. We love them, and I'd love to make them at home. I just need to know a lighter version, so I can justify making them!

Really, it's the cake part that could probably be lightened...I don't think you could mess with the icing very successfully and still have the glossy, shell effect. Oh, I would love one right now! :)

[Mamasue]

just bumping for you because I am curious. I have seen these cookies once or twice and heard about them but never tasted or made them. :)

[SusanL]

I found the recipe from MS, maybe someone can MasterCook to get the NA< then we can play with it.

Damiers

Makes 6 dozen
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
Generous cup confectioners??? sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
3 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, sugar, and salt. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add flour, and beat on low speed until dough forms around paddle.

2. Turn dough out onto work surface, and divide into thirds. Sprinkle cocoa powder over one piece. Gather dough together, and blend by pushing it away from you with the palm of your hand. Continue kneading the dough until it is smooth and the cocoa is completely incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes . (The process is messy and will take several minutes, but the dough will ultimately absorb the cocoa powder.) Shape each piece into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

3. Remove chilled dough from refrigerator. Set one blond disk aside. Divide remaining blond disk into four equal pieces. Divide chocolate disk into five equal pieces. Roll chocolate dough into five long, thin ropes (20 1/2 inches long and about 3/8 inch in diameter). Roll blond dough into four long, thin ropes of the same dimensions as the chocolate ropes.

4. Arrange ropes in a checkerboard design. Lay one rope of chocolate dough lengthwise on work surface. Place a blond strip adjacent to chocolate, and push together gently so that they will adhere to each other. Repeat with a second chocolate strip. There will be a layer of three ropes of dough (chocolate/blond/chocolate). Brush top of layer with egg white. Repeat, alternating colors so that a blond strip is over chocolate strip, chocolate over blond, and blond over chocolate. To form third layer, repeat process, alternating colors. Press to form a square log.

5. Roll out reserved blonde dough to a 21 1/2-by-6-inch rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Trim edges. Brush with egg white. Place checkerboard log in center of rectangle. Fold dough up and over log to completely encompass it. Press lightly to seal. Halve crosswise. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

6. Heat oven to 375??. Line baking sheets with Silpats; set aside. Remove chilled log from refrigerator, and slice crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick sections. Place on prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until light golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes; transfer to wire racks to cool.

[valchemist]

assuming 1 cup of confectioner's sugar and 72 cookies, here is the info per cookie:

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 60 Calories; 4g Fat (57.9% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 10mg Cholesterol; 3mg Sodium.

[breadmama]

Thanks, SusanL, for the Damiers recipe. It looks good, but it isn't the one for the Black and Whites I saw her make. The BW's are like little cakes, about 5 inches across, with a tender yellow cake base. Then a confectioner's sugar icing (white) is made, and you cover one half of the cookie with white. Then you add cocoa to the rest of your icing and cover the rest of the cookie with the chocolate. The icing firms up, and is a wonderful, thick "sugar hit." Both Martha and Rosie O'Donnell have featured them, and both of them have joked about the dilemma: "Do I eat the white side first? Or the chocolate? Or try to get a bit of each in every bite???" (Our family prefers that last method! :) )

I know Martha Stewart has the recipe in her files, but I don't know how to import it here for analysis by one of our MC experts...

Did I mention that they are really, really good?

Thanks!

[Molli526]

I LOVE black and white cookies. I had one at Eli's in NYC and it was so good! Let me check my recipes, b/c I am pretty sure I have the recipe you are talking about.

[Molli526]

Found it! Give me a few minutes to get it into MC.

[Molli526]

* Exported from MasterCook *

Black & Whites

Recipe By :Peggy Cullen
Serving Size : 26 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : cookies

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 ounces unsalted butter -- softened (1 stick)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs -- room temperature
2 egg yolks -- room temperature
1 teaspoon milk
1 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons cake flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Frosting
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
5 tablespoons boiling water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (Parchment is a must here. Lining the sheets with foil or greasing them with butter will cause the cookie to spread too much or unevenly.)

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, or in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl using a rubber spatula. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time. Scrape down the bowl. Add the milk. In a small bowl, sift the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine. On low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Scape the bowl and mix a few seconds.

Scoop the batter using a 1 1/2-inch ice-cream scoop, leveling it off across the top before dropping mounds onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Place 13 or 14 scoops on each baking sheet. Bake one tray at a time for about 15 minutes, or until the centers spring back when lightly touched. Let sit for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cook completely. Do not overbake.

To make the frosting, melt the chocolate.

In a medium bowl, use a whisk to combine the confectioners' sugar and boiling water. Add the vanilla, The consistency should be slightly runny, but thick enough to spread. Ad more water to thin it or more sugar to thicken it. Using a small palate knife, spread half of the flat side of each cookie with the white frosting. Stir the chocolate into the remaining frosting. You'll most likely need to thin it with more hot water. Spread the remaining halves with the chocolate frosting.

If you don't plan to eat the cookies the day they're made, store them un-iced, refrigerated in an airtight container overnight, or freeze them for up to two weeks.

Description:
"Also known as Half Moons, these oversize cookies are a New York
classic."
Source:
"Got Milk? The Cookie Book"
Yield:
"26 cookies"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 151 Calories; 6g Fat (32.3% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 40mg Cholesterol; 45mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : This recipe calls for a large percentage of cake flour, which contains less protein than all-purpose flour. Cake flour gives a tender crumb. Be sure not to use self-rising cake flour.
Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

[SusanL]

I got this from her website.
Black and White Cookies

Makes 10


1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cake flour (not self rising)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons light corn syrup, plus more if needed
1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Sift together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until smooth. Add milk, and whisk to combine. Whisk in melted butter and extracts. Add flour mixture, and stir to form a smooth dough. Cover, and chill for 1 hour.

2. Line baking pans with Silpat nonstick baking mats. Using a 2-ounce scoop, drop five cookies per pan, 3 inches apart. Bake until edges are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack set over parchment paper to cool.

3. In a small bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar, 3 tablespoons hot water, and corn syrup. Whisk until smooth. Using a small offset spatula, ice half of each cookie. Return cookies to rack to drip, if necessary.

4. Add chocolate to remaining icing. Stir until smooth. Add additional corn syrup to thin to desired consistency, if necessary. Spread chocolate icing over second half of each cookie. Allow cookies to set, about 10 minutes.

[greysangel]

Here's one that was on the WW website awhile back. I haven't tried it though :D

JeAnne

MINI BLACK & WHITE COOKIES

The part-skim ricotta cheese in these fun, bite-size cookies adds moisture while minimizing fat.

1 POINT PER SERVING

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Other Time: 150 minutes

Cookies
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Frosting
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp fat-free milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp cocoa


1. Cream together 4 tablespoons butter, ricotta and 1/2 cup sugar. Add vanilla and egg; mix thoroughly.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt, and blend into rest of mixture. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

3. Place chilled dough on a strip of wax paper and roll into a 14-inch (36 cm) cylinder. Put in freezer for 2 to 3 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Slice off 1/3-inch thick rounds and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes (cookies should stay pale in color). Cool on baking rack.

5. For icing: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in microwave or over a very low flame. Mix with oil and milk. Sift confectioners' sugar, and blend into liquids. Divide icing into two bowls. To one bowl add cocoa and mix to blend.

6. When cookies are cool, spread white icing on half of each cookie and chocolate icing on other half of each cookie, or cover each cookie completely with one type of icing. Yields 1 cookie per serving.

Number of servings: 42
POINTS per serving: 1

[eas11]

There's 2 things I MUST eat when i go to NY because they're nowhere to be found in Boston: italian ices and black and whites.
I also saw the WW recipe, and others too. Maybe they're good- but but they're no black and whites!
There is just nothing like a NY b&w :( And don't get me started on the one's that are frosted, not iced! There are some things that are sacred!!!

Now, italian ices. Everytime I go to Ices Queen in Brooklyn I beg them to consider franchising!
"There's no place like home........"
Ellyn

[JLS]

If someone tries the recipe that Greysangel posted (source: WW) please post feedback. They look really interesting. The last time I made 1/2 moon cookies...they weren't light, I used almost an entire box of confec. sugar, and they were alot of work. (They sure were good...though...)

[breadmama]

Now I have a good excuse to try some recipes this weekend! I am sure I'll have some willing taste-testers...
I'll let you know how they come out.

[greysangel]

eas your reasoning is exactly why I haven't tried that recipe yet :D A NY black and white is pretty close to a NY bagel ...sacred :cool: :cool:

JeAnne

[Mlasley]

Search the food network website - I remember Melting Pot doing a segment on black and white cookies.

[Molli526]

Originally posted by breadmama
Now I have a good excuse to try some recipes this weekend! I am sure I'll have some willing taste-testers...
I'll let you know how they come out.

I saw you are from Michigan. If you want to drop some off in Royal Oak, I will let you know my opinion ;) :D :)

[AmyBeth73]

There's 2 things I MUST eat when i go to NY because they're nowhere to be found in Boston: italian ices and black and whites.

Are you kidding? Black & White cookies, or more commonly called "Half Moons" in Boston, are in every bakery I've ever stepped foot in, especially in the North End. Try Mike's Pastries for starters, they have one that could choke a horse!

Can't speak for the Italian ice...

:)

Amy Beth

[eas11]

Originally posted by AmyBeth73


Are you kidding? Black & White cookies, or more commonly called "Half Moons" in Boston, are in every bakery I've ever stepped foot in, especially in the North End. Try Mike's Pastries for starters, they have one that could choke a horse!

Can't speak for the Italian ice...

:)

Amy Beth

Sorry, Amy Beth, but no they're not the same....at all... as a NY B&W :) Maybe that's because, as you say, they're especially in the North End-ITALIAN. In NY, the were always found in JEWISH bakeries. Probably a different recipe, maybe to comply with kosher laws. Of course, the "style" of the cookie is available all over now- even at Stop and Shop. So, true, you can get a half moon here- but it ain't a NY B&W :D

Ellyn

[breadmama]

Okay, Ellyn, now I am curious...have you ever made the Black and Whites a la Martha's recipe? They sure looked like the ones we crave at Starbucks, but now I wonder if they are a good likeness!

(Yes, we're a bit obsessive about these cookies...actually, it's because of our family that the local Starbucks even orders them. We used to get them at Coffee Beanery, but when that cafe closed, we switched to Starbucks, and longed for the B & W's. So, we asked, and they searched, and then started ordering them.)

[AmyMcP]

This is what we called them as children and still do! I spent a few years of my childhoon in Bay Shore...Mom grew up there...Dad lived in NYC for a number of years!

My family now lives in SC and the Public grocery store makes them sometimes...perhaps from leftover cake dough. Their version is pretty good, but not like the ones in NYC. The BEST have to come from some store in Grand Central Station.

NYC does have the best bagels, Moon cookies and pizza. I remember Italian Ices from the beach!

I think I will try one of the recipes for kicks. Thanks for sharing!:p

[HRJ]

I've already gone on record on another thread insisting that NY bagels are unique -- but I'll put in my 2-cents and agree with Ellyn that the Half Moon cookies of Boston are not the same as NY Black and Whites.

As a matter of fact, I'll go even further, and admit that even in New York these days -- or at least in some of the NY 'burbs -- you will come across all too many "faux" Black and Whites -- bakeries that either don't know how to make them properly, or won't take the time and effort to do so. I fear the true Black & White may be becoming an "endangered species." (I wonder if that can be traced to the decline of kosher bakeries? Hmmm. I sometimes think I haven't had a really good Black and White since the demise of Ebinger's, the legendary Brooklyn bakery chain.)

Anyway, the thing is that you can't make a Black & White with leftover cookie dough, because a real B&W has a "cake" bottom, as Breadmama mentioned.

I haven't had a hankering for Italian ices in years, so I won't weigh in on that one.

Helene

[eas11]

Here's the link (http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe2694&search=true&resultNo=1) to the Martha recipe for those interested. Also has a pic of the authentic looking finished product :) Haven't tried it though. As Helene said, although it's called a cookie, it is definitely a cake.

Ellyn

[pilgrim719]

Sorry to drag this old thread up, but I have some info for all those in the Boston/MetroWest MA area...

I was in the Shaw's supermarket in Sudbury this week and they sell Black & White cookies there. I, of course, had to buy some to sample and see if they were indeed a NYC black & white (like the name on the package) or if they were a half moon cookie. Well, they really do taste like black & whites, I was surprised. I found them in the bakery section in a plastic container with 3 black & whites in it, and the label actually says "Black & White Cookies". Thought some of you might be interested :)

Kari