Black & White Cookies
The perfect Black & White Cookie rides the line between cake and cookie. It’s topped with half vanilla and half chocolate icing, which means you don’t have to choose. You get both flavors in one delicious treat.
Table of contents
About Black and White Cookies
If you grew up in the New York City area as I did, or if you’ve ever visited a NYC bakery, or if you watch Seinfeld, you are probably familiar with the iconic Black & White cookie.
Never had one? Well, you’re in luck because you can make them at home. They look impressive, but are quite simple to make.
The quintessential Black & White cookie has a soft, cakey texture and a thin, snappy layer of frosting.
In my opinion, the ideal black and white cookie is soft with a tender crumb, but also has the crisp bite of a true cookie.
I made several specific choices for the ingredients and techniques in this recipe to achieve the perfect cakey cookie texture. Read through the entire post for details about how this recipe works.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- All Purpose Flour – All purpose flour is typical in cookie dough because it prevents the cookies from spreading too much. It also absorbs more moisture than cake flour. A lower moisture dough makes a crisper cookie.
- Vegetable Shortening – Low moisture shortening creams up to a super light texture and keeps the dough from spreading too much in the oven.
- Butter – Butter contributes great flavor.
- Baking Powder & Soda – Baking soda neutralizes the small amount of acid in the buttermilk. The baking powder gives the dough extra lift to make wonderfully light cookies.
- Corn Syrup – Corn syrup gives the icing a glossy sheen.
- Hot Water – Melts into the sugar so the the icing is not gritty.
Process Photos
See the recipe card for detailed measurements and instructions.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream the sugar with the shortening and butter
- Add the wet ingredients.
- Add the flour mixture. Scrape the sides of the bowl and the paddle to make sure there are no lumps of butter.
- The dough will be quite soft.
- Portion out 12 cookies.
- Use your hand to flatten the dough.
- The unbaked cookies will look like small hockey pucks.
- Bake the cookies until golden brown around the edges.
- Cool on a wire rack before icing.
- Mix the water, vanilla and corn syrup into the powdered sugar.
- Stir until smooth.
- The icing should be thin enough to settle smoothly.
- Combine half the vanilla icing with cocoa to make the chocolate icing.
- Line up all the ingredients and get ready to ice the cookies.
- Using a small offset spatula, ice the cookies first with the vanilla frosting
- Then ice the other half with the chocolate frosting.
- Allow the frosting to set before serving.
Work Ahead & Storage
- The cookie dough can be refrigerated for 1 day. Allow the batter to come to room temperature before baking so the cookies spread and flatten in the oven.
- The scooped cookie dough balls can be frozen on a sheet pan then transferred to the freezer for up to a month.
- The cookies will keep at room temperature for 1-2 days.
- The cookies can be frozen. Individually wrap each cookie or layer parchment paper between the cookies to prevent the icing from sticking.
More Black & Whites
More New York Recipes
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Black & White Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
Batter
- 7 ½ oz all purpose flour (1 ½ cups, see note)
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 oz granulated sugar (¾ cup)
- 3 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 ½ oz vegetable shortening
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ oz Buttermilk (3 tablespoons)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Icing
- 12 oz confectioner sugar (1 ½ cups)
- 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
- 2 ½ oz hot water (divided)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 oz dutch process cocoa powder (¼ cup)
Instructions
Make the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Combine 7 ½ oz all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon baking soda in a small bowl and whisk to combine the ingredients.
- In a mixer bowl, cream 6 oz granulated sugar with 3 oz unsalted butter and 1 ½ oz vegetable shortening until light and fluffy. Add 1 egg, 1 ½ oz Buttermilk and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
- Using about ¼ cup per cookie, scoop or pipe the dough into 12 equal mounds. (see note) Moisten your hands with water and flatten the tops slightly. The cookies should be the shape of a small hockey puck.
- Bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges and set in the middle, about 20 minutes. Cool the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a rack and cool to room temperature.
Make the Icing & Finish
- Combine 12 oz confectioner sugar, 2 teaspoons light corn syrup, 4 tablespoons of the hot water and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract in a small bowl and whisk until smooth and glossy. The icing should be the texture of thick pancake batter. It should be spreadable but thin enough so that it smooths out as it settles.
- Put 1 oz dutch process cocoa powder into another small bowl. Add half of the icing from the first bowl and a tablespoon of hot water and whisk until smooth. If the icing is very thick, add more water, just a few drops at a time, to get the proper consistency. If the icing becomes too runny whisk in a little confectioner’s sugar to thicken it.
- Flip the cookies over so the flat side is up. Ice half of each cookie with white icing and the other half with chocolate icing. Allow the icing to set before serving.
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I just made these for a verified black & white cookie fanatic and she raved! I followed your recipe exactly and was very impressed with the results. This is a keeper!
Wonderful, Thanks!