Black and white cookie

A black and white cookie.

A black and white cookie is a soft, sponge cake-like shortbread which is iced on one half with vanilla fondant, and on the other half by dark chocolate fondant.

The black and white cookie, also known as a Drop Cake, is often seen as a peculiarly "New York" snack.

History and Half-Moons

There is some confusion as to the origin of the black-and-white cookie and the sometimes synonymous name Half-Moon. The name Half-Moon is quite common in Upstate New York and New England, while in New York City, you'll find only Black and Whites. However, while the two names are often used interchangeably, there may actually be some differences between the two.

The Halfmoons often come with a chocolate base, rather than a vanilla/lemon base, which is the standard downstate and in New York City.

These differences lead us to Hemstrought's Bakery in Utica, New York -- often credited with creating the Black and White cookie. This bakery has been selling Half-moons since the 1920s. However, it cannot have originated from there, since Glaser Bake Shop on First Avenue near 87th Street in Manhattan, New York has been making black and white cookies since 1902.

There is some thought that Hemstrought's Bakery copied the already existing black-and-white cookie already in existence in New York City. So while they may have create the Half-Moon, they likely did not create the black-and-white.

The Seinfeld Episode

The cookie's New York-ness was cemented by its appearance in the Seinfeld episode "The Dinner Party", in which Jerry Seinfeld bases his philosophy of race relations on the cookie, saying "look to the cookie."

A German cousin?

In Germany, a variety of the black and white cookie (usually baked with either the "white" or the "black" part only) is called an Amerikaner. Some believe this is because it was imported to Germany by the GIs after WW2. However the true origin is a change in name from Ammoniakaner which it was called because ammonium hydrogen carbonate was used in the recipe.