Black and Whites, Baby, Black And Whites

Black and Whites, originally uploaded by heyer00.

My family is from upstate New York; the Finger Lakes area, to be precise. I spent a lot of summers visiting my grandparents, hanging out on the farm, enjoying the joys of summer in the country.... cherries fresh-picked from the cherry tree out in the field, blackberries from across the road, tomatoes from grandma's garden....

and Black and Whites from the grocery store bakery!

Except in that part of New York, they're called Half-moon cookies. They are a big, cakey cookie (chocolate cookie being my favorite variety), with half the top frosted in white frosting, half the top frosted in chocolate. My biggest dilemma was, did I eat the vanilla side first, thereby leaving the wonderful, chocolatey goodness (the best part!) for last? Or did I go for the chocolate while I was still salivating for the delicious experience of a Half-moon, and then eat the vanilla once my tastebuds got some initial satisfaction?

Most if the time, I'd save the chocolate side for last! Delayed gratification and all that.

Anyway, I don't live in New York anymore, and I've long wanted to replicate Half-moon cookies at home. I'm now aware that these cookies aren't just popular in western New York, but the rest of the state as well, and they're actually called Black and Whites in New York City.

I recently bought a cookie cookbook by Martha Stewart, and lo and behold, there is a recipe for mini Black and Whites! I made them last night, and I have to say: not bad, Martha, not bad. I'm not overly fond of the lemony taste to the white icing. And I have no idea how Martha so skillfully gets the icing in neat half circles. Still, these are de-lish!!!