Homemade Milano Cookies |Cooking With Amanda

To me, Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies are more than smooth chocolate sandwiched between golden cookies. They are my grandmother's kitchen. Thirty years later, and I can still picture the exact cabinet where she kept her Pepperidge Farm stash. Milano cookies and raisin swirl bread. Always raisin swirl bread. She wisely chose the cabinet above the counter, away from the reach of short visitors. Namely, the kids. But that's OK, because she handed out cookies pretty freely.

Milano cookies are oval-shaped shortbread-like cookies, tender and butter cookies, that is, with a layer of chocolate between. You may use your preferred recipe, but I used my favorite, no-fail, always-perfect (gosh, no humility there) shortbread cookie recipe. It tastes divine, is easy to whip up, and holds its shape beautifully when rolling out and cutting.

I used an oval-shaped cookie cutter, but you may use circles if you don't have any oval cutters. Or hearts. Or stars. Or any shape you like. I rolled my cookies somewhat thickly at a quarter of an inch, thicker than the original version. If you like a thinner cookie, try and roll the cookies closer to 1/8-inch. Just keep in mind they may need less time in the oven, in that case.

For the chocolate ganache, instead of classic ganache, which is a mixture of melted chocolate and heavy cream, I added some powdered sugar to make the chocolate more spreadable. To come closer to the original, choose dark chocolate chips to make these. But semisweet chocolate chips will work just as well.

Next up on my list are Mint Milano cookies. All you would need to do is add some peppermint extract to the melted chocolate. For a super duper minty taste, you can also add peppermint extract to the cookie dough when you're adding the vanilla extract.

Then I'll absolutely have to make the Pepperidge Farm Goldfish. I'm pretty sure my daughter's addiction keeps the company in business.

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Homemade Milano Cookies Recipe

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Ingredients

For the Cookies:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Chocolate:

1 cup dark chocolate chips, or semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a standing mixer fitted with the flat beater, or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter and powdered sugar until fluffy.
Beat in the egg and extract.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Gradually blend into the butter and sugar mixture.
Cover the cookie dough and refrigerate for one hour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll the cookie dough to 1/4 -inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut out cookies using an oval or round cookie cutter. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking tray and bake until the edges are golden, 15-17 minutes. Let cookies cool.
In a microwave-safe bowl, place the chocolate chips. Melt at 70 percent power for 1 minute. Stir and continue to microwave, if necessary, just until the chocolate melts. Stir to fully melt.
Mix the cream and confectioner's sugar into the chocolate and stir well.
On the underside of half of the cookies, spread some chocolate mixture and immediately sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with all of the cookies.