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These gluten-free black-and-white cookies taste just like the New York classic! They’re grain-free, dairy-free, vegan, and are made with that signature black and white glaze.

black and white cookies on a plate

What are black and white cookies?

Growing up on Long Island, NY, I had quite a bit of black and white cookies growing up. They’re big pillowy cookies with split icing… one white and one chocolate. It’s been one of those recipes that I’ve wanted to recreate forever, and it’s finally here.

This version of black and white cookies is…

  • Gluten-free
  • Grain-free
  • Egg-free
  • Dairy-free
  • Vegan (with swaps)

But it still tastes incredible!

The ingredients for black and white cookies

  • Almond flour. I haven’t tried any other flours in this particular recipe.
  • Arrowroot starch. Tapicoa starch will also work!
  • Ground flax. This is the egg subsisute in the recipe. A regular egg should also work.
  • Ghee. You can also use melted coconut oil or butter.
  • Maple syrup
  • Orangic powdered sugar. The reason that I stick with organic powdered sugar is because it’s corn free. Regular powdered sugar will almost always contain cornstarch. Powdered sugar is the best option for making the icing, though I haven’t tried any subs like monk fruit powdered sweetener.

How to make gluten-free black and white cookies

  • Combine the wet and dry ingredients to form a dough. 
  • Scoop the cookies. Use a large cookie scoop (or your hands) to scoop large cookies. Add to the baking sheet and slightly flatten with your hands. You should have about 8 cookies.
  • Bake until lightly golden brown. 

  • Make the white and black icing from powdered sugar, dairy-free milk, and cocoa powder. 

  • Ice the cookies! Once the cookies are cooled, carefully spread the white icing onto one half of each cookie. Transfer to the fridge to allow to set for about 10 minutes. Remove and repeat with the chocolate icing. Allow the icing to set in the fridge and serve!

Can you use a real egg instead of a flax egg?

Yes, you should be able to do that!

Can you make this recipe AIP?

This recipe doesn’t lend itself well to being AIP mainly because of the icing! Maybe I’m a little bit too much of a purist for black-and-white cookies, but it doesn’t taste the same without that powdered sugar icing, and there isn’t an AIP swap that looks and tastes quite the same. You could play with it for sure, but I stuck with staying closer to the real deal for this particular recipe.

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Gluten Free Black and White Cookies

  • Author: Michelle
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Description

These gluten-free black-and-white cookies taste just like the New York classic! They’re grain-free, dairy-free, vegan, and are made with that signature black and white glaze.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1/4 cup ghee, melted (sub coconut oil)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 2 cups almond flour
  • 1/3 cup arrowroot starch
  • 1 tsp baking powder

For the icing

  • 1/2 cup organic powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp dairy-free milk
  • 2 tsp cocoa powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Using a large bowl, combine the flax and water. Allow to sit and thicken for 5 minutes. Add the ghee, vanilla, and maple syrup and stir into the flax mixture and stir combine.
  3. Combine the almond flour, arrowroot, and baking powder in a separate bowl, then add to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Stir to combine until a dough forms.
  4. Use a large cookie scoop (or your hands) to scoop large cookies. Add to the baking sheet and slightly flatten with your hands. You should have about 8 cookies.
  5. Transfer the baking sheet in the oven and allow to bake for 15 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.
  6. To make the icing, sift the powdered sugar into a bowl and combine it with the dairy-free milk until a smooth icing forms. Add more milk or sugar if a different consistency is desired.
  7. Transfer half of the icing to another bowl and stir in the cocoa powder to make the chocolate icing.
  8. Once the cookies are cooled, carefully spread the white icing onto one half of each cookie. Transfer to the fridge to allow to set for about 10 minutes. Remove and repeat with the chocolate icing. Allow to set and serve!