August 20, 2006: Half-Moon Cookies

A few weeks ago I blogged about how much I love Half-Moon cookies, a delicacy that is apparently unique to upstate New York, land of my childhood. Today, being delightfully rainy, was a perfect day to try out a recipe I found online. I made just a couple of adjustments, and the result is extraordinarily close to the cookies made at Tops Friendly Market in Geneva, New York. This recipe is for a dozen large cookies. Trust me, that's all one family needs or you'll all be hurling! The cookies are supposed to be big--3 or 4 inches in diameter.

Chocolate Half Moon Cookies

* One cup brown sugar
* One-half cup butter
* One egg
* One-half teaspoon vanilla
* One and one-half cups flour
* One-half teaspoon baking soda
* Pinch of salt
* Four ounces baking semi-sweet baking chocolate (plus 2 more ounces for icing)
* One-half cup milk

1. Cream brown sugar and butter together. Beat in egg and chocolate (4 ounces which has been melted). Add milk alternately with flour, soda and salt. Stir in vanilla.
2. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto pizza stone or lightly greased cookie sheet, spreading batter slightly. Bake in 350 degree oven 10-12 minutes.
3. Cool and frost flat side of cookies. Combine two cups sifted confectioners sugar with one-fourth cup butter, add one-half teaspoon vanilla and enough milk to make it spreading consistency. Frost half of cookies with white frosting. Add two squares melted chocolate to remaining frosting and frost other half of cookies with chocolate frosting.