I grew up in Utica NY, where Hemstrought's bakery made half moon cookies famous. Yummy little free form rounds of (chocolate cake, although they come in vanilla too) cake, half coated white chocolate frosting and the other half with a white vanilla frosting.

The contender is NYC black & white cookies. These are a shortbread cookies, half coated white chocolate frosting and the other half with a white vanilla frosting. The frosting hardens on these cookies I'll admit, I've never had these

.

Which ones do you prefer?

Here's Hemstrought's recipe for Half Moon Cookies

Half Moon Cookie Recipe

Half moon cookies are upstate NY cookies frosted with half vanilla & half chocolate buttercream. Different from NYC Black & Whites because of the cake like texture and creamy frosting. Prep Time 10 minutes. Cook Time 12 minutes. Frosting time 10 minutes. Total Time1hour hr

Servings: 20

Ingredients

Cookie Ingredients

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1.5 cup granulated sugar
• 12 tablespoons shortening
• 2 egg
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 0.5 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups flour

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch salt

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 0.5 cup cocoa powder
• 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch salt

Instructions

Make Cookies

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Combine the sour cream, shortening, and sugar in a mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.1 cup sour cream,12 tablespoons shortening,1.5 cup granulated sugar
• Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.2 egg,2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir to mix the dry ingredients.2 teaspoon baking powder,1 teaspoon baking soda,3 cups flour,0.5 teaspoon salt
• Add half of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture. Beat until just combined. Then add the remaining flour mixture and beat until it is mixed in. The batter will be thinner than most cookie dough but thicker than cake batter.
• Drop about 1/4 cup of batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Use a spatula or knife to spread it into rounds about 2 1/2 to 3 inches in size. Leave space between the cookies. You will only be able to fit 3 or 4 cookies per sheet.
• Bake them in a preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. Halfway through the baking time, pull the sheets out and change the position of the sheets on the oven racks. This will help ensure they bake evenly.
• Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes. Then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Don't frost them until they are completely cool.

Make Icing

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

• Combine the softened butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and pinch of salt in a mixing bowl.1 cup unsalted butter,3 cups confectioners sugar,pinch salt,2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Whip it on high speed until light and creamy.
• Add the heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.2-4 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

• Combine the softened butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl.1 cup unsalted butter,3 cups confectioners sugar,0.5 cup cocoa powder,pinch salt,2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Whip it on high speed until it is creamy.
• Add the heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.2-4 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

Frost

• To frost the cookies, first, flip them upside down. The frosting goes on the flat bottoms of the cookies, not the domed tops.
• Use a frosting spatula to spread half of the cookie with vanilla icing and the other half with chocolate. Most people put a thicker layer of chocolate frosting than vanilla on the cookies.

Notes

• You can substitute your favorite buttercream icing recipe or use store-bought frosting.
• Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing them.
• I like to use Dark Chocolate Cocoa powder for the chocolate frosting to make it fudgier.
• Keep the consistency of the icing thick so that it is easier to make a clear division between the black and white icing.
• Frost the flat bottoms of the cookies, not the domed tops.
• Since buttercream frosting doesn't harden, these store best before they are frosted. The unfrosted cookies keep at room temperature for 3-4 days. Frosted ones keep for 1 day at room temperature or 3-4 days if refrigerated. The frosting can be stored in the refrigerator for a few weeks.

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