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.
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.
Emma Kigar
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.
Louise
That's such a nice story Lisa wrote about Uncle Milt and his recipes. We should all be so lucky.
the blissful baker
you know, i've never had a black and white cookie before? i want one of these!
Rebecca
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..
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Karen
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.
corinne
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!