Milan Cookies

But what about s’mores, and rocky road ice cream shakes, and hot chocolate topped with cute little marshmallows? Nope.

To most this might sound strange; especially for those who’ve got fond memories of having it sandwiched between graham crackers or toasted over a campfire. Earlier, as a kid, when I was curious about marshmallows and finally had them on a trip to the States, I didn’t get what all the fuss was all about. Every now and then I pop one in my mouth just to see if my opinion is unchanged or not.

So for this time’s Daring Bakers’ challenge I was really happy that we could pick between Chocolate covered Marshmallow Cookies and the Milan Cookies; no prizes for guessing which one I chose to make.

It took me three attempts to get them just the way I like them. Sometimes I wish food network recipes were a little more elaborate (or I had a steady hand at piping!)

• First I piped the cookie batter on the Silpat as soon as it was ready. This gave me an uneven shape.
• To prevent that for the next batch, I refrigerated the batter so it’s firm up and be easier to pipe out and then I baked it immediately in the preheated oven. The shape turned out okay butUnfortunately, because the batter was still cold, I ended up with charred corners and slightly under baked centres.
• In my final try, I piped the cold cookie batter on the Silpat and then let it stand for 30-40 minutes to come to room temperature and then baked it. Perfect results!

So although the recipe was small and got done in no time, I did learn a few important things about piped cookies!

12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon extract
1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
Nutella for the cookie filling

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. Spread a thin amount of the Nutella onto the flat side of a cookie and press the flat side of a second cookie on top. (Do this only just before you want to serve the cookies or they ted to get soft).
7. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

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.