Black and Orange Cookies

These Black and Orange Cookies are a Halloween take on the famous Black and White cookies sold in New York City bakeries. 

The cookies are soft and "cake-like," and are iced on one half with chocolate icing and on the other half with vanilla icing. They are sometimes called half-and-half cookies or half moon cookies. They are traditionally black and white, but to celebrate Halloween, you can make them black and orange. 

These cookies are popular in New York City bakeries, and there are lots of opinions about which bakery makes the best one. In addition, should the icing be thin or should it be thick? Do you combine both icing flavors in one bite or eat them separately? Currently, William Greenberg Desserts claims to be rated #1. 

These cookies were a huge hit with my grandsons. The first time I made these, my younger one loved eating one half at a time, not mixing up the icing flavors, and my older one stole a page from a 1994 Jerry Seinfeld episode and liked mixing the icing flavors in each bite. 

Typically, black and white cookies are pretty large, about four inches across, and include about 1/4 cup of dough. These cookies are about 2 1/2 inches across and the recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of dough. That way, you can eat two.... or three! 

To get evenly sized cookies, use a #30 cookie scoop to portion the dough. It makes it easy to get the rounded shape without any extra effort.

Ingredients in These Cookies:

From the Pantry: All-purpose flour, baking powder, nutmeg, vanilla extract, and granulated sugar. 

From the Refrigerator: Eggs and egg yolks, milk, and butter. 

For the Icing: Confectioner's sugar, light corn syrup, and lemon juice. For the orange icing, you will need about two drops of orange gel food coloring, and for the chocolate icing, you will need unsweetened cocoa powder. 

To Make These Cookies: 

First, mix the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt together in a large measuring cup and then sift the ingredients into medium bowl. 

Next, mix the milk and vanila together in a measuring cup. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until pale. 

After than, beat in the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk mixture and then beat in the eggs and egg yolks. Scoop the dough onto parchment lined baking sheets.... 

... and bake the cookies for 15 minutes. 

Then, mix the icing ingredients, divide it in half, and add cocoa powder to one half and orange gel food coloring to the other half. 

Finally, ice the bottoms (the flat side) of the cookies with half orange icing and half chocolate icing. Let the icing dry for one hour before serving. 

Equipment You May Need:

Electric Mixer: It's easiest to use a stand mixer, but you can also use a hand mixer. 

Two Tablespoon Cookie Scoop: It's often marked #30. Perfect for portioning the cookie dough. 

Small Offset Spatula: For spreading the icing. I actually used a super small offset appetizer knife. 

Variations:

You can easily play with the colors of the icing depending on the holiday (such as Valentine's Day or Christmas) or the event your are hosting (such as team colors, etc.)

You can also substitute almond extract for the vanilla. 

Make-Ahead and Storage:

These cookies are best the first couple of days but will keep in an air tight container for about four to five days, stored in a single layer. I use baking sheets with lids. You can also store them between layers of parchment paper. Just be sure the icing is fully hardened. 

You can also make the cookies ahead of time, freeze them, and ice them later when you are ready to serve them. 

This week, the Sunday Funday group is sharing recipes to celebrate Halloween! 

Sunday Funday

Halloween Recipes

• Black and Orange Cookies by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Halloween Focaccia by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Keto Halloween Quesadilla by Sneha's Recipe
• Mummy Dogs from Culinary Cam
• Necromancer Gnocchi by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Pumpkin and Apple Soup by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sloppy Monster Sandwich by Palatable Pastime

Black and Orange Cookies

Yield: 36 cookies

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 45 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 H & 30 M

These Black and Orange Cookies are a Halloween take on the famous Black and White cookies sold in New York City bakeries. 

Ingredients

For the Cookies

• 3 1/2 cups (17.5 ounces) all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs plus 3 egg yolks

For the Icing

• 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• A few drops of orange gel food coloring
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

For the Cookies

1. With a rack in the middle of the oven, heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper, (you can reuse the first baking sheet and parchment for the last 12 cookies once it has cooled).
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt in a large measuring cup. Pour the mixture into a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and sift it into the bowl.
4. Mix the milk and the vanilla in a measuring cup.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time. Increase the speed to high for about 30 seconds.
6. With the mixer on low, add the flour in thirds, alternating with the milk mixture in two additions. Beat the mixture on high for 15 seconds.
7. Place two tablespoon mounds of cookie dough (I used a cookie scoop) on the baking sheets, 12 cookies per baking sheet. Place a baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. The cookies should be just golden at the edges. Cool on the pans for 5 minutes, and transfer to wire racks. Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough.

Icing the Cookies

1. Beat the powdered sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer on low until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and add water, one tablespoon at a time (about 5 to 7 total), until smooth and spreadable.
2. Transfer half of the icing to another bowl and stir in the orange gel food coloring.
3. Add the cocoa powder to the other half of the icing mixture and mix on low with the electric mixer. Change the speed to medium and add a tablespoon or two of cold water to match the consistency of the orange icing.
4. Spread the each icing color over half of the flat side of the cookies so that each cookie is 1/2 chocolate, and 1/2 orange. Let sit until the icing hardens, about an hour. Store in an airtight container.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

160

Fat (grams)

6 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

3 g

Carbs (grams)

26 g

Fiber (grams)

0 g

Net carbs

26 g

Sugar (grams)

17 g

Protein (grams)

2 g

Cholesterol (grams)

24 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2018/10/black-and-orange-cookies.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories - adapted from Adapted from The Food Network Magazine, October 2015

cookies, Halloween, black-and-white cookies

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