Black & White Cookies scream New York from afar. They have appeared on New York bakery menus as early as 1902 and still can found in delicatessens throughout the city. They've also had a resurgence in pop culture thanks to the show's popularity The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel of Amazon Prime. Double biscuits were on the menu at The Marvelous Mrs. pop-up Maisel Carnegie Deli. Black and white cookies have been added to the menus of popular New York bakeries such as Magnolia Bakery and Zaro's Family Bakery, which has pop culture versions of the cookie.
He notes the food columnist of New York Times , Melissa Clark that these cookies are not only a staple of New York, but an essential part of Jewish culture, stating that "Black & White Cookies have been an established part of New York's very strong Jewish cookie scene for a century." However, these cookies – if you can call them that – have a confusing, debated creation history that raises more questions than answers.
First off, the black and white "cookie" is technically a cake. According to the late chef and food journalist Molly O'Neill, black and white cookies are "broken promises" as they "are flour cakes baked cookie-style." Food writer William Grimes he claims that the black and white cookies are "drop cakes" because "the batter is like cupcake batter, with a little extra flour so the batter doesn't run everywhere when it's dropped."
According to the book Savoring Gotham, the black and white cookie is made of “butter (or shortening), sugar, eggs, flour (both cake and all-purpose), sometimes milk, vanilla and lemon extracts, maybe orange, with icing sugar, water, dark chocolate and a little corn syrup."
Black and white cookies also go by many different names. In upstate New York and New England, people call these cookies "crescents," while in the Midwest, they're often called "harlequins." In addition, in German they are called American.
The black and white cookie is believed to have been created by Glaser's Bake Shop, which was opened in 1902 by Bavarian immigrants John and Justine Glaser in Manhattan's Yorkville neighborhood. The bakery closed in 2018 after 116 years and three generations of bakers. In accordance with Eater, Glaser's cookies had "thick layers of fluffy fudge" and were "a community staple."
Many others believe, however, that black and white cookies began as "crescent" cookies served at Hemstrought's Bakery in Utica, New York beginning in the early decades of the 20th century. The original bakery has since closed, but the company still sells its award-winning 'original Halfmoon Cookies' and has introduced a frozen section to freeze instant cookies. The relationship between these cookies and those at Glaser's Bake Shop is unclear. They supposedly share a common German root, but the cookies are different enough that many believe they are two separate cookies. While black and white cookies are flatter with a shortbread base and fudge frosting, half moon cookies are more domed and use a cake base with frosting.
According to Eater , the story of these cookies gets even more complicated. The word "cookie" comes from the Dutch word "koekje" which means "small cake". Dutch settlers are known to have eaten "little cakes" like gingerbread, which are technically not cookies. Justin Rivers, Chief Experience Officer of Untapped New York who created the our Remnants of Dutch New Amsterdam tour, argues that the Dutch could not have had access to the amount of sugar needed to make the black and white cookie icing. Perhaps, however, there was some precursor to the black and white biscuit enjoyed by the Dutch.
Black and white cookies didn't reach their global heights until the 1940s and 1950s, when the black and white cookie was introduced — or potentially reintroduced — to Germany. During and after World War II, American soldiers introduced the black and white cookie to the Germans, which likely inspired the cookie's new nickname, "Amerikaner." Probably the term American derived from the shape of the Brodie helmets worn by American soldiers during the World Wars.
These American they are often iced entirely with vanilla and are still eaten today throughout Germany. Like the origin of the cookie, the name American is also unclear. Savoring Gotham notes that the word may be derived from the German word Ammonakaner , which translates to ammonium bicarbonate, a bulking agent. But the author says this theory is "less plausible" than the simple fact that the cookie from America had to be differentiated from a black-and-white cookie already enjoyed by Germans. This word may also have inspired the alternative name Ammonplätzchen , which translates to "ammonia cookies". One of our German readers told us via Twitter that the American was sold in his village fifty years ago: “I was born in the communist part. And even there…”
Black and white cookies have even served as a symbol of racial harmony. In his "Dinner Party" episode Seinfeld , Jerry declares, "Look at the cookie!" in response to race relations: “Nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate. And yet, somehow, racial harmony still eludes us." Additionally, President Barack Obama nicknamed them "Unity Cookies" in 2008 when he visited a deli in Hollywood, Florida.
It is still unclear whether these cookies date back to the 17th century or the early 20th century, but what we do know is that black and white cookies have become an essential part of not only New York culture, but world history, religion and even racial commentary.
Source: untappedcities.com