Name: Half Moon Cookies Upstate New York!
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup butter, soft; 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar; 2 lg eggs, room temperature; 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1 cup sour milk (1 cup whole milk + 2 tablespoons vinegar); 1 tsp pure vanilla extract; 1 lg egg yolk; 1 tsp pure vanilla extract; 4 tbsp melted butter; 3 tbsp hot milk; 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar; 2-4 tbsp cacao powder (or cocoa powder)

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Half moon cookies! I am bringing back my childhood memories from Upstate New York with my mom's half moon cookie recipe.

It's a super rainy cold spring day here in New York today and I was feeling nostalgic so I went through my old recipe cards and stumbled across my most favorite childhood cookie.. the half moon cookie! Just look at this cute handwritten recipe card. 🙂

half moon cookie hand written recipe card

I grew up in a tiny little town about an hour north of Syracuse and I used to make half moon cookies all the time! Back then I didn't know that Half moons were famous to upstate New York, and you couldn't find them down south back then!

If you've never tried a half moon cookie and are visiting I highly recommend trying them from Harrison street bakery on the west side of Syracuse! Make sure to get them early in the day as they taste super fresh and fluffy in the morning and tend to get stale as the day goes on.

WHAT ARE HALF MOON COOKIES?

Whether you know them as half moons, or black and white cookies, the concept is the same: a soft fluffy cake-like cookie topped with half vanilla and half chocolate frosting.

Looking for a healthy cookie instead, check out my healthy cookies page!

WHAT ARE HALF MOON COOKIES MADE OF?

in the cookie itself:

butter
granulated sugar
eggs
all-purpose flour
baking soda
baking powder
sour milk
pure vanilla extract

in the half moon cookie frosting:

egg yolk
pure vanilla extract
butter
hot milk
powdered sugar
cacao powder

WHO INVENTED THE HALF MOON COOKIE?

Half moon cookies are suspect to be invented in the early 20th century in Utica, New York by Hemstrought's Bakery.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HALF MOON COOKIE AND A BLACK AND WHITE COOKIE?

I once believed they were one in the same, but actually they are two different cookies. Black and white cookies are more common down state in the New York metropolitan area, they are flat and have royal icing on top.

Half moon cookies are more common in Upstate and Central New York, they are fluffier with a slight dome-shape with fluffier frosting.

TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST HALF MOON COOKIES EVER

USE ROOM TEMPERATURE BUTTER. Your butter will mix into the cookie batter so much better if you wait for it to get perfectly soft at room temperature.

CREAM BUTTER, SUGAR & EGGS COMPLETELY. Keep beating butter into the sugar and eggs until you no longer see any little pieces of butter. If the butter isn't totally incorporated, you could end up with flat oily cookies.

DON'T OVER MIX. For light, fluffy and cake-like half moon cookies, don't over mix your batter. Over mixing this cookie batter will result in more chewy cookies.

DO NOT GREASE COOKIE SHEET. If you're worried about sticking, use parchment paper. But don't use any grease or oil spray, or you could end up with flat oily cookies.

DROP BY 1 TABLESPOON SCOOPS ONLY. Half moon cookies are a super fluffy cookie that puffs up a lot when baking! So only use 1 tablespoon per cookie and leave about 1 ½ to 2 inches between each one to give them room to spread and bake evenly.

COOL COMPLETELY BEFORE FROSTING. Make sure to cool the cookies completely before adding black and white frosting! If they are even warm at all, you will end up with a mess of frosting all over your counter.

WATCH HOW I MADE THEM!

HOW TO MAKE HALF MOON COOKIES

I made my authentic upstate New York half moon cookies with sour milk to give them that perfect fluffy, cake like texture! Sour milk is so easy to make with just whole milk and vinegar and is the secret to perfect half moon cookies!

You can use a standing mixer or beat them in the bowl with a wooden spoon like I used to do back in the day before I owned a standing mixer. Let's get started!

STEP 1: CREAM BUTTER WITH SUGAR AND EGGS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

First, add 1 cup of soft butter, 1 ½ cups sugar and 2 eggs (at room temperature) to the bowl of a standing mixer. Beat with the paddle attachment until completely smooth and no chunks of butter remain. Scrape down the bowl once or twice while beating.

STEP 2: ADD DRY INGREDIENTS AND SOUR MILK

Next, add 3 ½ cups sifted flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 cup of sour milk, and 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the mixing bowl.

Mix again, scraping down the sides once or twice, until the cookie batter is just combined. Be sure not to over mix your cookie batter!

HOW TO MAKE SOUR MILK FOR YOUR COOKIES

Sour milk is a necessity for my fluffy vanilla half moon cookies.

For homemade sour milk: 1 cup of whole milk + 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Mix and let it curdle for about 10 minutes.

STEP 3: BAKE

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop cookie batter by 1 tablespoon scoops. Leave 1 ½-2 inches space between them.

Bake cookies for 13-15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown. Cool cookies completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.

STEP 4: MAKE FROSTING

A lot of half moon cookie recipes are made with thick fluffy buttercream frosting. However, the classic half moon cookie is made with just a little bit of frosting spread on top, not too thick.

In a bowl, add 1 egg yolk and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Get your whisk ready as we are whisking hot milk and butter into the yolk. Start whisking as you pour in the 4 tablespoons melted butter and then the 3 tablespoons hot milk.

Start whisking in the 2 ½ cups of powdered sugar. Keep whisking until the frosting is completely smooth.

Pour half of the vanilla frosting into a separate bowl. Whisk in 2-4 tablespoons cacao powder, using more if you want a dark chocolate flavor.

Update December 2022, I just realized that I have been frosting my half moon cookies upside down my whole life! For the most authentic upstate half moon cookie make sure to frost the BOTTOM, and not the top like I do!

Spread half the chocolate frosting on the cooled cookies. You do not need very much! Maybe 1-2 teaspoons of frosting per cookie.

Finally, spread on the vanilla half of the frosting.

Enjoy!

Hope you love my most favorite half moon cookie recipe!

STORAGE

Half moon cookies do not need to be stored in the fridge, keep them in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

More cookie recipes you might like:

If you try my Upstate New York Half Moon Cookies Recipe, please let me know your thoughts by leaving a rating and comment below! Ready for more? Subscribe to my newsletter or follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube!

Half Moon Cookies Upstate New York!

Upstate New York Half Moon Cookies! Half moon cookies are my most favorite childhood cookie recipe. My light and fluffy half moon's are made with sour milk for a delicious cake like cookie. Topped with half vanilla and half chocolate frosting for the best of both worlds!

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings cookies

Calories 168 kcal

Equipment

Standing mixer or mixing bowl + wooden spoon
large cookie sheet
Parchment paper

Ingredients

For the vanilla cookie dough:

1 cup butter, soft
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 lg eggs, room temperature
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sour milk 1 cup whole milk + 2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the half moon cookie frosting:

1 lg egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoon melted butter
3 tablespoon hot milk
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoon cacao powder or cocoa powder