The black and white cookie has a magnificent cakey texture and is covered in sugary icing. As you can see, its name comes from the fact that half the cookie has black/chocolate icing, and half has white icing. (I apologize, because the one in the picture is half-devoured, god forbid I remember to take a blog photo before I unleash my B & W cookie craving.) I ask you this: how can you not love a cookie that tastes like a cookie-cake hybrid in your mouth, has not one but two delicious icings, and is perfectly complimented by a glass of cold milk?
Granted, the B & W cookie is generally a more labor intensive recipe to make for the average American, versus most very straightforward, easy chocolate chip recipes. For obvious reasons, the B & W cookie requires more work: two kinds of icing, several different ingredients perhaps not normally found in the pantry, and furthermore, it is doubtful that Pillsbury sells the dough.
But even beyond the average American home-baking milieu, we are still left with a lack of B & W cookies in our surroundings. The B & W is sadly not reaching the people through commercial spaces. Notably, the B & W is certainly less prevalent in bakeries in Los Angeles when compared with East Coast counterparts. (The B & W cookie in New York is much less of a rarity, as it originated there. In fact, The Black and White Cookie Company website claims their business was established due to the conspicuous absence of B & W cookies outside of New York. So it's not just my imagination.)
I would argue that when executed well, the B & W is just as delicious as a chocolate chip if you're in the right mood for it. True, they belong in totally separate categories (much like the difference between craving sushi versus say, shrimp scampi), but they are equally delightful.
Bakery hunters, where do you weigh in on the debate?
Here at The Great American Bakery Hunt, we're asking America to end the era of chocolate chip prejudice and lobby to add more B & W cookies to every city. We can't let New Yorkers have all the fun! Epicurious seems to agree.
Blogger's note: Are you a Los Angeles resident at a loss for a good B & W cookie? There's hope yet! Izzy's Deli in Santa Monica orders them daily (although don't wait until the wee hours to partake or they'll be long gone), and Dink's Bagels makes them every Thursday if you're ever wandering around the Valencia area.
For Black and White Cookie source tips in LA, please write us so we can add more tips to the post in our comments. Ending chocolate chip cookie prejudice starts with you.
