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Home » Soft and Cakey Cookies

Snowflake Pastry Shop Half Moon Cookies

Modified: Sep 28, 2021 · Published: Oct 24, 2010 by Anna · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

After reading Lisa Horel’s Salon article about the Snowflake Pastry Shop Half Moon Cookies, I vowed not to make any until I got my hands on some fiori di sicilia, a flavoring described as “the essence of Italian flowers” which Lisa said was the key to good Black & White Cookies. She’d been eating them all her life, so I figured she knew what she was talking about.

Fiori di Sicilia

So I searched all around town for fiori di sicilia. No one carries it, which means I’ll have to order it from King Arthur. In the meantime, I decided to make some Black & White recipes (Black & Whites and Half Moon Cookies are pretty much the same thing) back to back and see which I like best.

Black and White Cookie tribute to Snowflake Pastry Shop in Syracuse, NY
Cookie tribute to Snowflake Pastry Shop Half Moon

Snowflake Bakery Half Moon Recipe

First up, was the Snowflake Half Moon recipe Lisa had adapted from her baking hero, Milt Ziegler. Unlike a lot of Black & White recipes, this recipe does not call for buttermilk. It also calls for a mixture of butter and shortening, which I figured would give the cookies an interesting texture. The icing was a glaze rather than a fondant and was pretty straightforward (though Lisa recommends Valrhona cocoa, which I am still waiting to arrive in the mail) and of course there’s the issue of the fiori di sicilia. As a substitute, I increased the vanilla slightly, added a dash of orange extract, and threw in 2 teaspoons of lemon zest.

Other than the flavor alterations, I followed the recipe as Lisa wrote it and believe Uncle Milt would approve. These were the largest Black & Whites I’ve ever made and the texture reminded me of the ones I’d eaten in New York. They’re slightly cake-y, but very crumbly when you bite into them. My hodgepodge of flavorings gave them character, but I still can’t wait to try them with the special Italian extract. By the way, if you're wondering who Uncle Milt was, Lisa wrote another article about Uncle Milt and his Honey Cake. Here's the recipe for the Snowflake Pastry Shop Half Moon cookies.

  • Buttercream Frosted Half Moon Cookies
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  • Italian Wine Cookies
  • Ciao Italia in Tuscany Torta di Mele -- Tuscan Apple Cake
  • Lisa's Friend's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

More Soft and Cakey Cookies

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  • Old Fashioned Applesauce Cookies
    Old Fashioned Applesauce Cookies
  • Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
    Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Pudding Mix Black and Whites
    Pudding Mix Black and White Cookies

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  1. Emma Kigar says

    December 14, 2010 at 10:58 am

    As a kid, going to Snowflake Bakery was a thrill. The tea cookies were out of this world, but I loved those half moon cookies. Milt was larger than life not only as a baker, but as a jokester. The routine was adult friends of Milt's would have their kids wait while Milt told a slightly bawdy joke. Milt, while still chuckling, would then offer the youngster a sample. I'm proud to report I turned his mirth to outright laughter once when he offered me a half moon cookie and I asked if I couldn't please have the whole thing.

  2. Louise says

    October 25, 2010 at 8:14 am

    That's such a nice story Lisa wrote about Uncle Milt and his recipes. We should all be so lucky.

  3. the blissful baker says

    October 24, 2010 at 8:36 pm

    you know, i've never had a black and white cookie before? i want one of these!

  4. Rebecca says

    October 24, 2010 at 7:22 pm

    As a New Yorker, I can tell you that the absolute best black and white cookie I've ever had in Texas is the one at Kenny & Ziggys Delicatessen in Houston. It has a perfect cake-like consistency with frosting that's not too hardened and not too soft..

    check out my blog: austineatcetera.wordpress.com

  5. Karen says

    October 24, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    Beautiful cookie, I need to make some of these soon.
    I am curious about the fiori di sicilia - can't wait to read your impressions of it when it arrives. I have been tempted to buy some for a while but have resisted so far.

  6. corinne says

    October 24, 2010 at 2:18 pm

    I'm going home (NH) in a few weeks, and already have a field trip planned with a friend to the King Arthur factory. Can't wait!

    And as far as those cookies go...I see no situation with baked goods where sort of surprisingly large isn't better!

Peanut Butter Fudge Jumbles recipe baked in a 9-inch square Pampered Chef stoneware pan.

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I'm Anna, and welcome to Cookie Madness. To learn more about me, check the About page.

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