BLACK AND WHITE COOKIE in New York: Martha’s Country Bakery

THE SPOT: When stepping into Martha’s Country Bakery in Williamsburg, it feels like it’s been there forever. And it sort of has. It’s an old school New York bakery (Greek-owned but you’d be excused in thinking it was Italian) whose owner’s family have been baking and selling these cookies and cakes for over 50 years in the city. Martha’s started in Astoria and expanded around Queens before landing in the center of Williamsburg in 2016. The location is spacious and is reminiscent of those Greek bakeries where you would come after dinner to keep the night going without booze.

The black and white cookie here is giant and wrapped in plastic, which I always despise, but I have to surrender if we’re really going to try all these cookies.

THE BLACK: Both fondants were super thin and really allow the cake to play the star of the show, for better or worse. I found the chocolate to be pretty unmemorable but thick and crisp.

THE WHITE: It was also hard to really get a sense of the white frosting either. It was sweet and maybe had notes of lemon, but it was restrained and almost barely there.

THE COOKIE: Martha’s is definitely a bakery and the cookie was like a soft biscotti with a nice browned exterior and a soft crumbly body. It was a good basic cookie cake, but nothing to really write home about. Some might appreciate the focus on the base and the true homemade quality. I just wish there was a slightly heavier hand in the actual black and white.

THE RATING: Despite the lack of frosting, Sam loved it and gave this a 9.5 out of 10. I didn’t love it quite as much, and would maybe rate it slightly higher than an 8 if the frosting was more in balance.