I like the b&w's at The House of Fine Chocolates.
Plus they have LOTS of really tasty desserts....

The House of Fine Chocolates
3109 N. Broadway
773.525.8338

House of Fine Chocolates has something that at first glance looks like a black and white cookie but it is not even close to the real thing. It isn't bad, though. It just doesn't have any elements of a real black and white cookie. Not cake like, not frosting (more like chocolate/vanilla shell), thin.

I had a black and white down in Frankfurt at Parmesan's Pizza last night. Good frosting, the cookie itself was a litte strange, kind of doughy.

It's not a Chicago option, but here's my latest B&W experience.

Petit Pois is a BIG black and white cookie fan, New York style, accepting no imitations. My mother, being aware of this fact, had a special shipment sent in from Zaro's bakery in NY (multiple locations) for PP's wedding shower.

The shipment included one giant cookie and a bunch of minis. She was very happy with these cookies. They weren't exactly fresh out of the oven, but they were exactly what she wanted.



To give you some size persepctive, those are Frango mints in the bottom-right corner.

Personally, I don't really get the whole appeal of these cookies. They just taste like crappy cupcakes to me. Anyhow, she loved 'em.

Zaro's is a pretty big chain with the bulk of their locations in Penn Station and Grand Central Station. I'm sure there are better and worse places to get these cookies in and around NY, but I really wanted to just share my photo of that giant cookie.

Zaro's New York Bakery
Multiple Locations
Online ordering at http://www.zaro.com

Best,
Michael

There are many variables of these cookies.

For the original visit:

www.blackandwhitecookies.com

This is an all natural, preservative-free cookie baked in NY from a 75 year old receipe. The cookies are shipped via Fed-ex.

The cookies can be customized with different flavors and colors as well as text, logos or images applied directly to the cookie.

A new ecommerce website launches mid-May 2006.

-David

I had a very bland and uninspiring lunch yesterday at Max's Deli in Highland Park, but when leaving I spied real cake-like B&W cookies in their deli department in case anyone is still looking.

Max's Delicatessen & Restaurant
Crossroads Shopping Center
191 Skokie Valley Rd.
Highland Park, IL
847-831-0600

Oddly enough, I find that the Nordstrom's coffee bar at the Oak Brook Mall has black & whites that taste closest to back home. Now, if I could get them to carry rainbow cookies and crumb cake, too, then I'd be all set.....

I made these black & white cookies for a friend's birthday this weekend, modifying the recipe slightly as suggested by some of the comments by adding a little more buttermilk and including some lemon zest in the cookie batter in addition to the lemon juice in the frosting. I also couldn't find Dutch process cocoa in the one place I looked, so I used baking chocolate instead in the chocolate frosting.

No one said they were exactly like the ones in the Bronx, but I was assured they were much better than anything else available in Chicago. And they were a mighty fine cookie either way.


(Noodles in the Pot, 2453 N. Halsted, was pretty good too. Loved the Tom Kha soup)

Oddly, Shan had Black and White cookies for sale a few weeks ago when I was there for lunch. Though, I must say, if I was really compelled to eat a B & W cookie I'd see if I could get Ann Fisher to make me a batch, her B & W's look delicious.

Black and White Cooke (Shan)


Shan
5060-A N. Sheridan Rd
Chicago, IL. 60640
773-769-4961

I've eaten Daisy's black and white. But not all of it. As my Bronx-born friend said when I reported my error "I've told you. Never, never eat a black and white that's wrapped in cellophane." She knows whereof she speaks.

Just wanted to say that I was really happy to find this post after returning from the farmer's market at Daley Plaza now. I had the hardest, crunchiest worst black and white cookie I've ever had from a bakery booth. It was a small layer of frosting over a cookie with the consistency of a ginger snap with none of the taste of a ginger snap. Wondered on the way back to the office where I could find a real black and white cookie and voila!

Not in the city, but the relatively new Fresh Market in Wilmette in the shopping center on Lake and Skokie just off the Edens has fresh baked Black and Whites in their bakery case. They were there pretty consistently earlier in the year, disappeared for a few weeks and seem to be back now.

They're pretty good with a nice cakey texture. Only issue I found with them is that the chocolate icing is almost too rich and bittersweet - it's a bit out of balance with the vanilla icing side.

I had the hardest, crunchiest worst black and white cookie I've ever had from a bakery booth. It was a small layer of frosting over a cookie with the consistency of a ginger snap with none of the taste of a ginger snap.

Ok, now I'm confused, are black and white cookies supposed to be crunchy? I thought they were supposed to be like flat cakes.

Ok, now I'm confused, are black and white cookies supposed to be crunchy? I thought they were supposed to be like flat cakes.

They're like flat cakes. Actually the best I ever had in NY had a slightly crunchy edge to the cookie, but it is basically like a dense sponge cake.

rickster wrote:

Ok, now I'm confused, are black and white cookies supposed to be crunchy? I thought they were supposed to be like flat cakes.

They're like flat cakes. Actually the best I ever had in NY had a slightly crunchy edge to the cookie, but it is basically like a dense sponge cake.

Exactly . . . I might add that we're talking a really dense cake-like texture, if that makes sense. But they should never be chewy or crunchy.

I've seen black & whites at treasure island

update: just had a black & white from the Farmers Market at the MCA. The vendor was - La provence? Provencale? I'm not sure... they were at the northwest corner of the market.

I can't judge for authenticity but this cookie did have a soft cake-like texture, topped by what I would call icing (maybe royal icing?) rather than frosting - sort of like it was glazed on thickly and allowed to dry and harden slightly. the chocolate side had a nice flavor, bittersweet but not overpowering. this cookie was wrapped in plastic kitchen wrap.

This search does go on. Let me repeat that what VI said above is absolutely true - HP Schmaltz in N'ville and DG does fly in real NYC B&Ws every week and sells a pretty good volume. They are fairly thin (compared to the bakery-made Chicago versions shown in cross-section above), but definitely cake, dense with a nice chocolate and vanilla frosting. Next time I go, I will get the name of the NY supplier.

I think the confusion about B&W's is because they look exactly like a big, frosted sugar cookie, and it is only when you take a bite that you discover it is a completely different animal. I suppose making one is a bit of a challenge to work out, too, since people generally are not baking slices of cake that are 1/4 inch thick, and 4 inches in diameter. Maybe Ann can speak to how you even do that.

Schmaltz does wrap their cookies in cellophane, but I am pretty sure they are not produced or handled the same way as Daisy's - an apt comparison might be between the individually wrapped brownie at your local baker, versus the wrapped and labeled brownie at the cash register at a convenience store. The wrapping is a useful indicator, sure, but there are other equally important signs of quality, or lack thereof. (I do, however, believe that one should only buy a sandwich wrapped in cellophane or any form of plastic and waiting in a cooler in the most dire of circumstances).

Anyway, Schmaltz has very good and authentic B&Ws.

dicksond wrote:This search does go on. Let me repeat that what VI said above is absolutely true - HP Schmaltz in N'ville and DG does fly in real NYC B&Ws every week and sells a pretty good volume. They are fairly thin (compared to the bakery-made Chicago versions shown in cross-section above), but definitely cake, dense with a nice chocolate and vanilla frosting. Next time I go, I will get the name of the NY supplier.

I think the confusion about B&W's is because they look exactly like a big, frosted sugar cookie, and it is only when you take a bite that you discover it is a completely different animal. I suppose making one is a bit of a challenge to work out, too, since people generally are not baking slices of cake that are 1/4 inch thick, and 4 inches in diameter. Maybe Ann can speak to how you even do that.

Schmaltz does wrap their cookies in cellophane, but I am pretty sure they are not produced or handled the same way as Daisy's - an apt comparison might be between the individually wrapped brownie at your local baker, versus the wrapped and labeled brownie at the cash register at a convenience store. The wrapping is a useful indicator, sure, but there are other equally important signs of quality, or lack thereof. (I do, however, believe that one should only buy a sandwich wrapped in cellophane or any form of plastic and waiting in a cooler in the most dire of circumstances).

Anyway, Schmaltz has very good and authentic B&Ws.

Although I have not had the ones Sarcon mentions, they certainly sound like the black & whites I grew up on out east -- somewhere between cake and cookie (puffier in the middle than the edges), and not at all your typical cake frosting but instead a glaze/royal icing

I had a perfect B&W yesterday from Alliance Bakery. I usually indulge in one of Alliance's bar desserts when I go there, and I almost missed the B&Ws, which were tucked in the corner of one of their cases, but the cookie was awesome--perfect cakey softness, taste of lemon zest and amount of frosting.

Alliance Bakery
1736 W Division
Chicago IL 60622
773-278-0366

this past weekend, I had the good fortune of sampling the real thing in Brooklyn.

I would say the cookie from the MCA Farmers Market (I am at this moment nibbling on one) is a very reasonable rendition. The Brooklyn specimen was superior in the icing quality: it was thicker and more supple, the white side more rounded in flavor. The MCA cookie has a harder and more brittle icing - perhaps not as freshly applied. Otherwise the 2 cookies seem to be very similar.

I found some Black & Whites today at Jerry's Fruit and Garden Center in Niles. 4 oz and individually wrapped in cellophane from Lilly's Homestyle Bake Shop in Brooklyn,NY.

The consistency is firm dense cake with hard icing. I thought they were pretty darn good,especially for the price. They were only 3 for $1.00,how can you go wrong? I only wish I would have tasted them in the car before I left so i could have gone back in and purchased more.
You can see a picture @ http://www.lillysbakeshop.com/site/i.ph ... s_fat.html

Jerry's Fruit & Garden Center
7901 N Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL
(847) 967-1440‎


Lilly's Homestyle Bake Shop‎
877 63rd St, Brooklyn, NY
(718) 491-2904‎
http://www.lillysbakeshop.com/site/i.php/index.html

Saw some yesterday at The Bagel but forgot to get one to try it


The Bagel
3107 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL
773-477-0300

leek wrote:Saw some yesterday at The Bagel but forgot to get one to try it

The ones at The Bagel are faux B&W. They're basically hard sugar/butter cookies that are frosted black & whites, no different than the smiley-face cookies.

They're a completely different animal than the cakey ones sold in NY.

eatchicago wrote:The ones at The Bagel are faux B&W. They're basically hard sugar/butter cookies that are frosted black & whites, no different than the smiley-face cookies.

They're a completely different animal than the cakey ones sold in NY.

Thanks for letting me know I didn't miss anything

I might have to try this recipe.

http://www.salon.com/food/feature/2010/ ... n_cookies/

Evil Ronnie

Cafe Baci sells black and white cookies regularly. Don't know how authentic they are. I've tried them and they are just...ehhhh. I think I actually prefer a well made version of the yellow smile cookies featured at many Chicago bakeries that kids like.

Of course I am from Chicago so I really don't have a clue about authentic b and w cookies.

I was excited to see that the new Delightful Pastries on Wells is now selling Black & White cookies. Sadly, my excitement turned quickly to disappointment when I took a bite of what was basically a butter cookie with frosting, most of which ended up stuck to the wax paper. Waste of an overpriced 3 dollars and change.

At the Costco on Clybourn yesterday saw cookies labeled Joey's which appear to be this company out East. Not sure of the price, but hey, it's Costco. How much can they be? I also know nothing of this type of cookie, just reporting what I saw without offering if they looked good to eat or not.

http://joeys-fine-foods.stores.yahoo.ne ... hites.html

FYI - The store has just rearranged their baked goods so they are now on the shelves between the dairy cooler and the personal care products.

Joey's is a brand of prepackaged black and whites I used to see in vending machines and convenience stores a lot in NY.

rickster wrote:Joey's is a brand of prepackaged black and whites I used to see in vending machines and convenience stores a lot in NY.

I saw Tombstone pizza in convenience stores in NY too. Joey's brand cookies are horrendous. The cookie itself has the texture of beef jerky and the frosting tastes like soap.