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Black and white

A few weeks ago I spent some time working on a project with a colleague in my company's New York office. He called me to chat and said that to thank me for my time, he'd like to send me something from New York. Was there any New York treat I'd like to get my hands on?

I immediately thought of the venerable Black and White Cookie. (OK, first I thought of a box of Magnolia cupcakes, but that wouldn't have been practical, and Lord knows I'm practical.) I told him you just can't get a good Black and White Cookie anywhere but in NY. Oh, San Francisco bakeries try to make imposter versions, but they're always just leaden sugar cookies dipped halfway in chocolate. A real b&w cookie is a round of white or yellow cake -- not a cookie at all, really -- with semicircles of delicate chocolate and vanilla glaze.

A week later, a huge box showed up at work. I thought I'd be lucky to get one of the cookies in a FedEx envelope. Instead I got a dozen large cookies plus a one-pound box of minis, all shipped fresh (and kosher!) from the Delancey Dessert Company on the Lower East Side. We had a hard time finishing them off before they got stale.

Over the long weekend I came across a recipe for the cakey cookies, so I had to give it a try. They didn't look too pretty -- see above -- but they tasted darn good.

July 6, 2006 8:14 PM