blackberry half moons

i had high high hopes for these cookies.

half moons are my favorite. or black and whites if you're downstate. whatever you call them, they're my favorite. there used to be a time when i couldn't walk past the two pack in the wegmans bakery without tossing them in my cart. so i thought blackberry half moons would be even better with the tartiness of the berries balancing the super sweet glaze.

not so much.

it's not that they're bad. they just aren't very blackberry-ey.

which is a bummer since they came out so nice and purple. too bad i didn't spread them out with a spoon so they're all misshapen and look like a sixth grader made them. but the purple is just different enough to be intriguing. but when you take a bite, it's just a plain old half moon.

not that i won't stop eating them. the texture is spot on so is the sweetness. and the glaze is perfect. perfect rendition of the glaze from a bakery half moon.

it's just too bad the berry doesn't really shine through. i put these in my "retry" file. along with some others i haven't even mentioned.

...maybe it's the berries. blackberries aren't as strongly flavored as raspberries and strawberries. maybe it's a bad choice of berries. i guess i'll have to wait until next summer to see.

blackberry half moons
adapted from a lot of places, but mostly smitten kitchen, joy the baker, and all recipes
makes 18 medium sized cookies in 60 minutes

for the cookies -
1/2 cup room temperature butter
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup strained blackberry puree
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup cake flour
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

for the glaze -
6 cups confectioners sugar
4 tablespoons corn syrup
2 tablespoons melted or room temp butter
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
hot water

1. preheat your oven to 375F and grease or line two sheet pans with parchment.
2. in a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. add the eggs, milk, berry puree, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
3. in a separate bowl, combine flours, salt, and baking powder. add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in batches, until combined.
4. place heaping tablespoons of batter two inches apart on baking sheets. use the back of a spoon to make a nice round circle out of the dough. bake about 10 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. cool completely before icing.
5. while the cookies are cooling, make the icing. in a bowl, combine 3 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons corn syrup, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and whisk. add enough hot water to achieve the right consistency. remember - you can always add more water if it's too thick, but it's a pain to add more sugar if it gets too thin. this is your white glaze. set aside.
6. make the chocolate glaze. in a separate bowl, in a bowl, combine 3 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons corn syrup, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and the melted chocolate and whisk. add enough hot water to achieve the right consistency.
7. when the cookies are cool, spread the white glaze across the bottom half of each cookie. let sit about 15 minutes or until set before spreading the chocolate glaze. let glaze set and store in an airtight container.