Milano Cookies

The combination of the crispy vanilla wafer cookies and dark chocolate makes Milano Cookies irresistible. They are perfect with a cup of coffee, as dessert, or even a midday treat.

Milano cookies are oval-shaped butter cookies that are sandwiched with a layer of chocolate ganache. In 1957, Pepperidge Farm began selling the "Naples" cookies in the Southern states. The Naples cookies were vanilla wafer cookies topped with dark chocolate. However, because of the hot temperatures in the South, the chocolate was melting. As a solution, they sandwiched two Naples cookies together and created the Milano cookie.

If you’d like a mint version, simply add a few drops of mint extract to the ganache, to taste (for proportions, ganache is made with 1 c. dark chocolate, chopped 2/3 c. heavy cream). Use orange extract or the zest from an orange for chocolate orange milanos.

Note: Not all copycat recipe use ganache as a filling, but melted chocolate instead.

Ingredients for Dark Chocolate Milano Cookies: enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), semi sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate, chocolate processed with alkali, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), sugar, vegetable oils (palm and/or soybean and hydrogenated soybean), eggs, contains 2% or less of: cornstarch, salt, baking soda, soy lecithin, natural flavor, nonfat milk. Contains: wheat, milk, soy, eggs.

Homemade Milano Cookies
from https://www.bakedambrosia.com/

1 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 egg room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk room temperature

Ganache
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces chocolate chopped (semisweet, bittersweet, or dark)

Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper and using a ruler draw 12-2 ½ inch lines spaced about 3 inches apart. Place the papers written side down onto the baking sheets and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat butter, powdered sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

Mix in the dry ingredients until there are no more dry spots. Finally, beat in the milk.

Transfer the batter to a large piping bag fitted with a ½ inch round tip. Pipe the batter onto the lined baking sheets using the guides you marked earlier.

Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining batter.

Ganache
To make the ganache, place chopped chocolate in a medium size bowl. Heat heavy cream in a saucepan until it begins to simmer (do not let it boil!). Pour over chocolate and let sit 2-3 minutes. Gently stir until combined and chocolate has completely melted. Allow to cool and thicken until spreadable consistency.

Assemble
To assemble the cookies, spread the ganache onto the flat side of one cookie and sandwich with the flat side of another cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Makes 18 cookies

Notes:

  • Make sure that the butter, egg, and milk are at room temperature before beginning. 
  • Before assembling the cookies, match the cookies together in pairs that are about the same width and length. This will make assembling the cookies a lot quicker.
  • You can prepare and bake the vanilla wafers up to 2 days in advance. When you are ready to serve, make the ganache, and assemble the cookies.

Chocolate Ganache Sandwich Cookies
from https://www.foodandwine.com/

Pastry chef Paola Velez's recipe for these chocolate sandwich cookies creates crisp, buttery cookies filled with rich, fluffy milk chocolate ganache. The creamy filling is made with chocolate and butter instead of the usual heavy cream, resulting in a softer ganache. After you bake and form the cookies, have fun decorating them with stripes and squiggles of melted dark chocolate, or dip them into the melted chocolate. Because the ganache is so soft, it's best to keep the cookies refrigerated until a few minutes before serving.

For the cookies
3/4 cup (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
4 large egg whites
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the whipped ganache
1 cup (about 6 ounces) chopped milk chocolate (36% cacao)
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) softened butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the decoration
1 cup (about 6 ounces) chopped dark chocolate
Rainbow sprinkles or nonpareils (optional)

Make the cookies:
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in center of oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat butter, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, and salt in a stand mixer with paddle attachment until pale and fluffy, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl halfway through, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla bean paste. Add egg whites, beating to blend and stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary. Add flour and mix on low just to incorporate.

Transfer batter to a large piping bag. For mini cookies, cut 1/2-inch off pastry bag tip, and for larger cookies, cut off 3/4-inch. Pipe 1 1/2-inch long strips for mini cookies, and 2-inch long strips for larger cookies, onto 1 prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 1/2-inches apart.

Bake cookies until bottoms are golden brown but tops remain pale, rotating sheet halfway through, 7 to 9 minutes. Transfer cookies and parchment to wire racks and let cool completely. Repeat piping and baking until batter is used up, letting baking sheets cool completely before lining with parchment paper and piping more cookies.

Make the whipped ganache:
Place milk chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until fully melted, about 45 seconds. Set aside. Add butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat briefly until smooth. Add melted chocolate to the bowl, and beat briefly to incorporate. Add the vanilla bean paste and salt, and beat until mixture is pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Transfer ganache to a piping bag.

Transfer half of the cookies from rack to a rimmed baking sheet, browned side up. Using sharp scissors, cut a small opening, about 3/8-inch, from tip of piping bag. Pipe filling over cookies. Top with remaining cookies, browned side down. Refrigerate cookies while preparing chocolate garnish.

Place 2/3 cup dark chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until fully melted, about 45 seconds. Add the remaining 1/3 cup chocolate and stir until melted. Spoon into a cornet or piping bag, and snip a very small piece from the tip of the bag. Drizzle chocolate decoratively over cookies as desired; add sprinkles if desired. Refrigerate until set. Store airtight in refrigerator between layers of parchment paper. Let come to room temperature 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: Makes about 50 mini and 25 large sandwich cookies