Milan Cookies – Daring Bakers July Challenge
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.
Biscuits remind me of home, family. My Grandma makes wonderful biscuits, my favourites are buttery and crisp with a dark chocolate round pressed into the top. The smell of anzac’s baking transport me to my childhood, in fact biscuits seem to be the first thing youngsters learn to bake, not as difficult as a cake, and ever-so rewarding.
The sweet crunch of a good biscuit is heavenly, but I rarely cook them so it was a nice surprise when this months Daring Bakers’ challenge forced me back to childhood memories, back to biscuits. I chose to make the Milan Cookies, and I admit I changed the recipe a little.
Also, I hate piping. Fiddly, messy and time consuming, I hate piping as much as I used to hate rolling. I’ve since gotten over my fear of rolling pins, but my distaste for piping bags continues, so I spooned the batter for this biscuit (hence the random shapes and their flatness). Despite this, the recipe was easy and resulted in thin, crisp, sweet and light biscuits, which paired wonderfully with the thick ganache filling.
These biscuits are nothing like my childhood experiences, they are a more adult version, especially as I used lindt 80% dark chocolate for the ganache. Bittersweet, just like getting older.
Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website
170g unsalted butter, softened
312.5 icing sugar
7/8 cup egg whites
2 tablespoons vanilla extract*
2 tablespoons lemon extract**
187.5g plain flour
Cookie filling, recipe follows
* I only added 2 teaspoons of the vanilla extract, because 2T seems like way way too much
** I used 2 teaspoons, and replaced with lemon juice.
Cookie filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
225g chocolate, chopped
1 orange, zested
Cream the butter and sugar. Gradually add the egg whites, when combined stir through the vanilla and lemon. Fold in flour.
Pipe 2.5cm lines of batter onto a baking paper lined tray. These biscuits spread, so be sure to place them with plenty of room.
Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 10 mins or until golden around the edges, then leave to cool on the tray.
For the filling:
Heat cream in a small pan until almost boiling. Break chocolate up and place in a bowl. When cream is hot, pour over the chocolate and stir to melt the chocolate. Stir through the zest and set aside to cool. This ganache will thicken as it cools, and be very difficult to work with if it gets too cold.
Spread a thin layer of the ganache on the bottom of one biscuit and join with a second biscuit. Repeat for the remainder of the biscuits.
This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
10 Comments
You did a great job on these. My Milan cookies did not go so well, so I admire yours – so evenly shaped and pretty.
Piping gives me the grumps too, it’s so darn fiddly. Your biscuits still look great though, they look so light and crisp!
Lili, visited 86yr old Grandmother Pat to find the biscuit tins filled, as always. Round, light crisps each topped with a perfect chocolate drop circle and a tin of thin ginger biscuits are evidence of where your baking skills stem from. (Though, from personal experience I know many, many years of practice does improve biscuits)
I hate piping too! And making cookies. So uh, didn’t enjoy this month as much
But yours look pretty! I should’ve ditched the piping bag as well.
Interesting how following the same recipe the texture looks completely different from one another. Piping was the hardest part for me!
Totally with you on the dark chocolate
I hate piping and rolling too! Your ganache looks so thick and hold the shape. Mine was a mess when I sandwiched them in between the biscuits.
I hear you about the piping! Lovely cookies anyway, so who needs a piping bag?
I know what you mean about the piping. Sometimes I’m in too much of a rush. These look good. Love the generous chocolate filling!
Piping or no piping, they look fantastic and I am sure they taste great too!
Cakelaw: Thank you! Though, I assure you that I had to pick and choose very carefully to get evenly shaped ones for the pictures
Steph: Fiddly and I hate cleaning piping bags! Thanks, they were.
pmum: As long as no piping is involved!
Karen: Yeah, i have no tolerance for the piping bag. But they were tasty, right?
Olga: Yeah, it always happens that difference in the recipe outcomes, wish it didn’t, though.
Ellie: I think piping and rolling are technical and painful and messy, so its no wonder no one is interested in it! I chilled my ganache a little, so that it would hold its shape.
Laura: Agreed!
Julia @ Mélanger: Oh the filling was a little too generous, if you know what I mean!
Megan@FeastingonArt: Thank you!