The humble black and white cookie might just be New York's most famous baked good (with cheesecake coming in a close second).
It is actually not a real cookie, but something that pastry chefs called a "drop cake" and covered half in vanilla icing and half in icing made with bittersweet chocolate. The icing is in the classic firm "fondant" style and the two flavors do not overlap.
It has long been said that no real New Yorker bites in the center; that they taste both flavors of a black and white cookie together.
Black and white cookies offer a great bang for the buck-- they are usually two to three dollars, with Glaser's selling their legendary original for only $1.50. A real black and white cookie is moist like a cake. That is the best way to tell that you've got the real deal.
As a New Yorker who loves black and white cookies, you know that you want to eat them the same day they are baked.
Besides being available at old-school bakeries (sadly, a dying breed with the city's escalating rents), they are available at bagel stores as well as Jewish delis that tend to place them on top of the counters or near the cash register.
What makes black and white cookies quintessential New York fare? Read on to find out.
1. They get the job done
Black and white cookies are large and filling. Real New York food is never done in a small way!
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The only traditional cookie to rival them in size is the Linzer Tart, also of German heritage.
2. Two pronounced flavors
The icing is both VERY vanilla and VERY chocolate and these flavors are only accentuated by the subtle vanilla flavor of the cookie. Believe it or not, both the vanilla and chocolate icing are made with a little bit of lemon juice.
3. Softness
It's the softest cookie that you can get-- it's much more like cake.
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This is mainly due to the fact that well-shaken buttermilk is used instead of regular milk.
,4. Pop-culture fame
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It is the only cookie to appear in two Seinfeld episodes--one of which Jerry comically compares black and white cookies to racial unity.
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In an episode of reality mirroring art, President Obama called them "Unity Cookies" at a 2008 event in Hollywood, FL.
5. Neighborhood history
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They are one of the last confections from Yorkville-- the old German neighborhood on the Upper East Side --that are still alive are easy to obtain.
B/W cookies are a tribute to a neighborhood that is almost unrecognizable from its heyday in the 30s through 60s.
6. You can't get them from just anywhere
gina__dawn Ok so I saw these "black and white" cookies everywhere in NY. Is this a new york thing? Or an American thing? I've never seen these in canada. This was so tasty though.. couldn't decide which side I liked better. What about you? #blackandwhitecookie #treattime #newyork #nyc #baking #cookie#yummy #instafood #qotd #travel #globetrotter #wanderlust #vacation #doiliveunderarock #newtome #tasty#bakery
You just can't make them at home even if you find the recipe.
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But what New Yorker actually cooks in their tiny kitchen anyway?
Check out 10 Oldest & Best NYC Pizzerias.