Few things can truly be categorized as quintessentially New York: yellow taxi cabs, dollar slices, Jewish delis, the L train. But after living in Manhattan for almost a decade (and finally earning my official New Yorker title), I find none more iconic than the black and white cookie. Beloved (unironically) by all five boroughs, the black and white cookie boasts a long and mysterious history, and since its inception in the early 20th century, there’s nary a bakery in town that hasn’t tried its hand at creating it.
Nowadays, cookie culture in NYC runs rampant. Eager eaters form lines that snake around the block to welcome new openings, fresh releases and viral hits. Atop the cookie empire sits Levain Bakery, a pastry mecca with 14 locations all over the country.
Earlier this spring, as they near their 30th anniversary next year, Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald (the founders of Levain Bakery) opened a new location in the Flatiron neighborhood of NYC. To commemorate the launch, the duo debuted a brand-new offering: the Black & White Chocolate Chip cookie, a take on (you guessed it) the famous city staple. “To celebrate our first New York opening in four years,” Weekes and McDonald share, “we knew we had to do something extra special, which is what brought us to developing our Black & White Chocolate Chip cookie, our own unique take on the iconic NYC treat.”
