The July Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.
I really enjoyed this months challenge. I unfortunately didn’t have time to do both cookies that were revealed for the challenge, so I decided just to settle on the Milan Cookies. Although the other cookies looked equally delicious. I have never been a big fan of Milano cookies so I wasn’t sure how I would feel about these.
I was pleasantly surprised because I found them to be really delicious. I loved the orange in the chocolate, which I found odd because I never used to be a big fan of the chocolate orange combination. Which is classic I know, but just was never my “thing.” I was also worried about the large amounts of extract in the recipe but it turned out just fine. The biggest compliment I got about this cookie was my other half stating “you know what I like about this cookie over the one’s you buy in the store…these taste like a real cookies and the ones from the package taste like flavorless cardboard.” Oh man…I really love this man of mine. Enjoy!!!
Homemade Milano Cookies
Yield: About 3 dozen
Ingredients:
For Cookies:
12 tablespoons butter - softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
7 - 8 cups egg whites - about six eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon extract
1 1/2 cup flour
For Cookie filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate - chopped
1 orange - zested
Source: Gale Gand Food Network
Directions:
For Cookies:
Cream the butter with a paddle attachment then mix in the sugar. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts. Add the flour and mix until just incorporated. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
For Cookie Filling:
In a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl. Whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools). Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.