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A stack of bakery style half moon cookies.
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4.96 from 25 votes

Easy Bakery Style Half Moon Cookies

A cake mix is transformed into the famous Half Moon Cookies from the bakeries of New York but made from the comfort of your home.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Chill45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 184kcal

Ingredients

Cookies

  • 1 box vanilla cake mix {15.25 oz.}
  • 1/2 cup butter {softened}
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1/4 cup sour cream

Icing

  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 1/2 tbsp milk
  • 1 tbsp corn syrup
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

Instructions

Cookies

  • Preheat the oven to 350° and cover baking sheets with silicone liners or parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl combine cake mix, butter, eggs and sour cream. Using a hand held mixer {or mix by hand}, mix the ingredients until just combined. There may be small bits of butter in the dough.
  • Scoop dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet using a medium cookie scoop. Refrigerate the dough scoops for at least 30 minutes.
  • Once chilled, add cookie scoops to a cookie sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes or until the edges and top of the cookie are set and the top is starting to crack. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet. Continue until all of the cookies are baked.

Icing

  • Combine the icing ingredients {minus the cocoa} and whisk until smooth. You want the icing to be thick enough to stay on the cookie but thin enough to spread. Adjust by adding more powdered sugar or milk.
  • Divide the icing into two separate bowls. In one of the bowls add the cocoa and whisk. You will have a bowl of vanilla icing and a bowl of chocolate.
  • Turn the cookies over onto their tops because the bottom of these cookies are what will be icing and will become the top of the cookie.
  • Spread vanilla icing onto half of the cookies– the flat side. Spread chocolate icing onto the other half and allow the icing to set completely, about 1 hour, before serving.
  • Store the half moon cookies in an airtight container once the icing is set for up to 4 days or freeze {without icing} for up to 3 months.

Video

Notes

  • Don't skip chilling the dough.  This step helps the cookies from spreading during baking.
  • Be sure that the cookies are completely cooled before frosting.
  • Use the bottom of the cookie as the top to get a nice smooth top, just like the cookies you would buy in New York.
  • Be sure to divide the frosting in half and add cocoa powder to one half.  This will give you both the black and white frostings.
  • Allow the cookies to set up completely before stacking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 213mg | Potassium: 32mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 137IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 0.5mg