Homemade Milano Cookies

I’m hesitant to say the following, only because I feel like I might be forgetting one, but I’ll say it anyways: I don’t think I’ve met a cookie I didn’t like. Whether they’re Oreo cookies or Keebler’s Fudge Stripes, I love them all. I especially love Milano cookies for their shortbread-like consistency and chocolate fudge layer sandwiched inbetween. The actual cookie is crisp and buttery, but the sweet richness comes from the melted chocolate spread inside. Plus, making them at home turned out to be one of the easier store-brand cookies to recreate. 

The first thing that I was amazed to find out was how well the cookies actually form into oval shapes. Because the dough for these cookies is piped out into 2-inch long log shapes, I was imagining them to spread out all over the place once they baked. Instead, they surprisingly retained an oval shape without going off into all directions. The dough is also very easy to pipe, which isn’t always the case when a recipe calls for piping. For example, when making pate a choux for cream puffs, the paste is somewhat runny and very sticky, which can get a little messy. The dough for these cookies is thin enough to come out of a pastry bag, and yet thick enough for you to be able to establish control over how much dough you actually want to pipe out. 

Once you pipe out your cookie logs onto a baking sheet, you simply bake the cookies for about 14 minutes, or just until the edges slightly golden, and then allow them to completely cool. Spread or scoop melted chocolate in between 2 cookies before gently pressing the cookies together so that the chocolate seeps out to the edges of the cookies. The result is positively delicious. 

Homemade Milano Cookies

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Ingredients

• 2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 c unsalted butter, 2 sticks, softened
• 1 1/3 c sugar
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 egg white
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicon mat or piece of parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy (about 1 minute). To the butter and sugar, add the eggs and egg white. Mix until blended well.
3. Add in vanilla extract and mix until combined. Gradually add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients, mixing just until everything is incorporated together.Take a large ziplock bag and cut one of the bag corners so that you're left with a 1-inch opening.
4. Place a couple heaping spoonfuls of cookie dough into the bag, squeezing it down near the corner opening of the bag. Pipe 2-inch long logs onto the baking sheet, keeping the logs a couple of inches apart from each other. You should be able to fit 9 cookie dough logs on a standard baking sheet.
5. Bake the cookies for 13-14 minutes, or just until the edges begin to slightly golden. Remove from oven and allow them to cool on pan for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. In double boiler (or a large bowl set on top of a small saucepan with boiling water - set on medium heat), melt chocolate until it's smooth (about 3 minutes or so).
7. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and allow the chocolate to cool (about 10 minutes).
8. Use a small spatula or spoon to spread/scoop chocolate onto the flat sides of the cookies. Gently press the cookies together to sandwich the chocolate in-between and squeeze the chocolate to the outside edges of the cookies.