American
Homemade Milano Cookies
Popular on Food52
14 Reviews
Smaug
February 4, 2020
I kind of screwed this up and will have to try again, but learned a few things. I decided to use a pastry bag with a 1/2" tip for consistency, as the cookies need to match up. A bit of reflection would have told me that a 1/2" cut off the corner of a baggie would actually open out into a smaller circle (a 3/8" tip would be more like it), and my cookies were therefore considerably larger than the PF version. I used 167g. flour for 1/2 the recipe, which seemed to work out right, and added 1/4 tsp baking soda, as it's on the PF ingredient list- whether it was an improvement I couldn't say, but at any rate it did no harm. I cooked some at 350, and liked the result better.
Smaug
February 6, 2020
Much better the second time. I changed the recipe some, as follows (this is for 1/2 batch- I got 2 doz. finished cookies);
1 1/4c. (167g) bleached AP flour
1/8tsp. salt
1/4lb. butter
1/2c.-1Tb. (90g) sugar
1 egg+20g. egg white
1/2tsp. vanilla
30oz. 72% chocolate
I think this balanced better than the original recipe. I used a pastry bag with a 3/8" tip- I usually handle cookie dough cold, but this pipes a lot better at about room temp. I also usually use silpats, but in this case parchment is better- you can draw guidelines at 2" to make them more consistent (turn the paper over and the lines will show through), and you can leave them on the parchment to add the chocolate, which is naturally a bit messy. It's best to let the chocolate set a bit more before putting the halves together.
1 1/4c. (167g) bleached AP flour
1/8tsp. salt
1/4lb. butter
1/2c.-1Tb. (90g) sugar
1 egg+20g. egg white
1/2tsp. vanilla
30oz. 72% chocolate
I think this balanced better than the original recipe. I used a pastry bag with a 3/8" tip- I usually handle cookie dough cold, but this pipes a lot better at about room temp. I also usually use silpats, but in this case parchment is better- you can draw guidelines at 2" to make them more consistent (turn the paper over and the lines will show through), and you can leave them on the parchment to add the chocolate, which is naturally a bit messy. It's best to let the chocolate set a bit more before putting the halves together.
Smaug
February 20, 2020
Round 3- I felt that the moisture in the butter was making for a cakier cookie than the PF version- subbing Crisco resulted in a texture and flavor much nearer the original (Pepperidge Farms in general doesn't seem awfully fond of butter). It was also easier to pipe; it cooked better at 375 degrees. Chocolate continues to be something of an adventure- I think a professional pastry chef would probably use a parchment cone, but my piping technique isn't good enough to attempt it. I don't think the original has any vanilla except in the chocolate- personally, I like a bit but it's not the original flavor.
Ersi M.
March 5, 2019
Greetings from Greece. Love Milano cookies but since we can't find any in Greece, I decided to make some. Pls specify what type of oven you are using - conventional (traditional) or convection (air). For some reason this is rarely specified in recipes. Thank you in advance
Smaug
February 6, 2020
American recipes written for home bakers are virtually always for a conventional oven- it would specify if they wanted a convection oven.
Änneken
October 25, 2017
These are extraordinary! I used Lindt 85% chocolate and found it was a tad too runny after I had let it cool for about 30 mins but I'd still make those again. Very delicious!
Lauren
August 4, 2017
These are very tasty and pretty easy to make. I found that they spread a lot during baking and i ended up with quite a few 'kissing' cookies. I also mixed the orange zest right into the chocolate rather then adding it to the sandwich separately. Very tasty and they really look just like the ones from the store!
Holly G.
May 30, 2017
I've made these twice and learned that in New Zealand with regular flour, you'll need to add an extra 1/2 cup of butter to obtain the right consistency. Added this melted after baking a test tray and finding them too flat and bumpy. Were perfect and exactly as pictures after butter addition!
Gabriella
September 26, 2014
more than just barely adapted i think:) These look excellent, a childhood favorite of mine that I can't wait to recreate with this recipe!
Amy
August 10, 2014
Delicious cookies. I made these yesterday, and found that the 1/2 inch hole made cookies that were a bit too small for me. I cut a 1 inch hole instead and they were perfect.
Kris
April 23, 2014
These are my husbands favorite cookies esp the orange milanos. Thanks for posting this recipe with the pictures of all the steps. Can't wait to try it.
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