Black and White Cookies Turned Pink!
Author of Sweet Noshings · as seen on Food Network, GMA & The NYT
Look to the cookie! The classic and beloved black and white cookies turned pink with the help of our friend pomegranate! (Maybe I need more friends?)
Did you know black and white cookies are something you can make at home? It’s not toooo hard, and you can get creative with the colors too. Of course food coloring works great, but I tried using freshly squeezed pomegranate juice in honor of Rosh Hashanah (symbolic for a plentiful new year and a new fruit for the new season). And I think the results speak for themselves! Can you imagine these on your High Holidays table this year? I am imagining them now and it looks good.
Here is what you need. I love a tart citrusy cakey cookie for these, and sour cream is essential for a soft, tangy cookie.
What is a Black and White Cookie?
- Black and white cookies is a classic New York City Cookie, know for being cakey, lemony
- They typically have half chocolate and half vanilla frosting
- You HAVE to frost the bottoms, it’s a must!
- My mom’s family in Boston calls them half moon cookies!
- Their origins are debated, but many say Bavarian immigrants invented the cookie
- Were the originators Jewish? Who knows! But the black and white cookie now has Jewish roots due to its rise in popularity thanks to its connection to Jewish delis in NYC. Most people consider it a Jewish dessert!
And authentic black and white cookie is frosted on the flat bottom! A must! I did all the pinks, let it dry and then went back for the chocolate.
Is it a cake? Is it a cookie? Who cares, I want to eat one now!
Black and White Cookies (Turned Pink!)
Look to the cookie! I love Black and White Cookies as much as the next girl, but these pink versions (thanks to pomegranate) are next level!
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup or 1 stick (113 g unsalted butter, softened)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 egg (at room temperature)
- ½ cup sour cream (115 g )
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest from 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice from 1 lemon
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour (210 g )
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
For Frostings
- 2½ cups powdered sugar (300g)
- 3-4 tablespoons fresh squeezed pomegranate juice from a pomegranate
- 1½ tablespoons corn syrup
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF/190ºC with the oven racks in the middle of the oven.
- In a large bowl with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or using a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-2 minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides of bowl.
- Add egg, sour cream, vanilla, lemon zest, and juice and beat just until smooth.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients with a large spoon, a little at a time until combined. Dough should be thick and sticky.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and scoop 1/4 cup scoops with a cookie scoop or measuring cup and place them a few inches apart on the cookie sheet. I did 6 per sheet. Use a wet (clean!) finger or spoon to smooth out the edges and make them as round as possible.
- Bake for 12 minutes until the edges start to brown. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then finish cooling on cooling racks (at least 30 minutes). You can round out the cookies a bit while they are still warm with your fingers too.
- Now it’s frosting time! To make your pomegranate juice, squeeze the sliced pomegranate through a mesh sieve over a bowl to catch the seeds. Alternatively, if you have just the arils, blend them in a food processor and strain through a sieve over a bowl.
- Combine the powdered sugar, corn syrup and enough pomegranate juice to make a thick but spreadable icing in a medium bowl.
- Transfer less than half the icing to another bowl and add the cocoa powder. Add enough water or pomegranate juice to make it the same consistency as the pomegranate frosting.
- Frost each half of the flat side (the bottom) of cookies with pink frosting, making a line in the center as straight as possible, let dry and then follow with the chocolate. Let the cookies dry before serving.
Notes
Frosted cookies are best eaten within a day of baking but you can make the cookies up to 3 days ahead of time and store at room temperature in an airtight container and then frost the day you are serving them. Or freeze the bake cookies for up to 2 months.
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Amy Kritzer Becker is a Jewish food expert, cookbook author of Sweet Noshings, owner of ModernTribe, and culinary-school-trained chef behind What Jew Wanna Eat — a modern Jewish food blog redefining heritage recipes since 2010. Her recipes have been featured in Food Network, Bon Appétit, Forbes, Good Morning America, and the New York Times.
