Homemade Milano Cookies

If I told you something personal would you promise not to judge...too harshly? I'm a bit of a Gleek.

No, not the pet blue space monkey of the Super Friends, but a fan of the television show Glee.

I've seen every episode, I own the Season 1. Vol 1 dvd and bought Vol 2 on advance order. Wait, there's more and this maybe the worst of them. I also have Glee cds which I use to sing at Mr. Incredible. Not sing to him, but I sing at him with intensity. Ever have someone who was tone deaf sing at you? Frightening.

So, I've given this a lot of thought. If these Milano cookies were to represent characters from the super awesome show Glee, then the traditional milano would play Emma Pillsbury, the lovable guidance counselor who is crazy (she's a bit germophobic), sweet, prim and proper.

Prim and proper is how I would describe the traditional milanos. Two thin butter cookies flavored with warm vanilla are glued together with rich ganache.

The double choco milano would play Puck Puckerman, the bad boy Casanova who is a bit temperamental but caring. Puck has a reputation of being a bad-ass which is exactly what these double chocolate milanos are...bad ass. The cookie outsides are dense, almost brownie like with luscious ganache filling.

The ganache filling would play the character Mr. Shuester, the caring and sweet Glee director. His smooth, creamy voice is much like ganache. He is the glue that holds Glee together. Did you feel that? This post just got deep.

Now get deep into making these cookies!

Milan / Milano Cookies Recipe

(Courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website)

Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

6 egg whites

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lemon extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Cookie filling:

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 orange, zested

Method

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. 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.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. 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.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies. 

*For Double Chocolate Milanos substitute 3/4 c. of dark chocolate cocoa powder for half of the flour in recipe and omit the lemon extract.