Black-and-White Cookies
Ahh, black-and-white cookies. This Jewish bakery staple is to many Jews what madeleines were to Proust.
By Yankee Magazine|Feb 22 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanThis Jewish bakery staple is to many Jews what madeleines were to Proust. They invoke a lifetime of memories.
From “Long Live the Deli,” March/April 2022
Yield:
about 18 cookiesIngredients
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups cake flour
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup milk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° (325° if using convection) and set racks to the upper and lower positions. Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
In a large bowl, using a standing or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until truly pale and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides several times during the mixing. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides after each addition. Add the vanilla and lemon zest and stir.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Add a third of this mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed just until smooth. Add half the milk and mix until smooth. Repeat these steps with the dry ingredients, then the rest of the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients.
Use a standard ice cream scoop, ¹⁄3-cup measure, or a large spoon to scoop out 2½-to-3-ounce portions of cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, with about 2 inches between them. Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the cookies are firm and the edges are just golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the glazes:
These were called 1/2 moons back home. Have you a recipe for “meltaways” from Harwich Port Mass.
They have been called ‘half-moon cookies’ for the decades I have known at least.
I grew up calling them half moon cookies!