You don’t have to travel to New York City to enjoy the beloved Black and White Cookies that have become synonymous with the Big Apple’s bakery culture. These iconic treats represent a perfect harmony of flavors and textures, featuring a tender, cake-like base with distinctive half-chocolate, half-vanilla glazing that creates both visual appeal and delicious contrast in every bite.
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Why This Black and White Cookies Recipe Is One You Should Try
You will love the sponge-like texture (similar to cake) of these cookies, topped with a sweet glaze, half vanilla and half chocolate. This is a tried-and-true recipe that will give you black and white cookies just like the ones found in NYC delis and bakeries.
They’re surprisingly easy to make at home, and if you’ve got kids, you can have fun involving them in the frosting process (although you may have to sacrifice some neatness!)
These are great for taking to a potluck or if you’ve got a stray New Yorker around.
Best Black and White Cookies Recipe Ingredients
For the Cookie Base:
- Cake flour – Creates the tender, delicate crumb texture essential for authentic black and white cookies
- All-purpose flour – Provides structure while maintaining the delicate cake-like consistency
- Baking powder – Ensures proper rise and light, airy texture throughout each cookie
- Unsalted butter – Contributes richness and moisture while allowing control over salt content
- Sugar – Sweetens the base and helps create the characteristic tender texture
- Large eggs – Add structure, richness, and help bind all ingredients together
- Whole milk – Provides moisture and contributes to the soft, cake-like consistency
- Vanilla extract – Adds aromatic sweetness and enhances overall flavor complexity
- Lemon extract – Provides the signature citrus note that brightens the entire cookie
- Salt – Enhances all flavors and balances the sweetness throughout
For the Iconic Glazing:
- Confectioners’ sugar – Forms the smooth, sweet base for both glazing varieties
- Bittersweet chocolate bar – Creates rich, intense chocolate flavor superior to cocoa powder
- Boiling water – Helps achieve proper glazing consistency for smooth application
How to Make Black and White Cookies
Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.
- Cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the eggs, milk, vanilla, and lemon extracts and mix until smooth.
- Combine the flours, baking powder, and salt.
- Add some of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Continue adding the dry ingredients in batches and incorporating them into the batter.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop portions of dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake at 375°F for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack.
Frosting
- Whisk enough water into the powdered sugar to produce a thick, spreadable mixture.
- Add the chocolate to half the frosting in a double boiler.
- Spread chocolate glaze on half of each cookie and white glaze on the other half.
Tips for Frosting Black and White Cookies
When frosting your cookies, draw a straight line down the middle with a small offset spatula or knife to get a nice, clean edge. Allow one side to set before covering the other side.
To help the frosting set quickly, place the half-finished cookies into the fridge for 20 to 25 minutes. It helps get a clean line and prevents the colors from running together.
Are Black and White Cookies Jewish?
Black and whites have been an established part of NYC’s very dynamic Jewish cookie scene for perhaps a century or more. These New York black and white cookies are even more ubiquitous than rugelach or chocolate babka and can be found in bodegas and bagel shops throughout the city.
However, these cookies didn’t necessarily begin life as Jewish cookies. They originated in Bavaria and emigrated to the United States with German immigrants who may or may not have been Jewish.
How to Eat a Black and White Cookie – There’s an Art to It!
To get that ideal combined taste of black and white in every bite, you shouldn’t just bite into your cookie without thinking!
What you must do is use a knife to cut off a slice from each side. Hold the two sides together, and voila! Each bite is perfectly balanced between black and white.
Keep going with more strips until you’re left with the final middle section, where black meets white. This way, you will enjoy the harmony until the very last bite!
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Peak Quality: Best consumed within 24 hours when cookies maintain optimal softness and glazing integrity
- Room Temperature Storage: Keep in airtight containers for up to 3 days, maintaining acceptable quality
- Extended Storage: Refrigerate for an additional 1-2 days if needed, though the texture may firm slightly
- Freezing Options: Freeze unfrosted cookies or raw dough for up to 3 months, thaw completely before glazing
Favorite Cookie Recipes
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Coconut Macaroons
- Cream Cheese Cookies
- Homemade Ginger Snaps
- Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies
- Pecan Sandies Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Popular Christmas Treats
Check out more of my easy cookie recipes and the best recipes for Christmas on CopyKat!
Thanks to Karen Ann for sharing this recipe.
NYC Black and White Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1/2 pound butter
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup 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 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Frosting
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup boiling water
- 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- To make the cookies, cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until fluffy. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and lemon extract. Mix until smooth.
- In another bowl, combine the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in batches, stirring well.
- Using a soup spoon, drop spoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto buttered baking sheets and bake until the edges begin to brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Then remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely.
- To make the frosting, put the powdered sugar in a bowl and stir in enough water to make the mixture thick and spreadable.
- Transfer half of the frosting to the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Add the chocolate and warm the mixture until the chocolate has melted and the frosting is smooth. Remove from the heat.
- With a brush, coat half of each cookie with chocolate frosting and the other half with white frosting.
Look to the cookie.
When I made this recipe it tasted like flour and when baking it doesn’t thin out; therefore, it’s too puffy and biscuit-like…not good. Not the NY black and white.
looks so good i saw this web site on the news