These Milano cookies are made with buttery and tender vanilla cookies and filled with a silky smooth chocolate ganache.
Learn how to make the popular Milano cookies in your kitchen! These are made with scratch cookies and are very easy to make and are so much more delicious than the store-bought ones! Homemade wins every time!
If you like buttery cookies, check out our lemon curd cookies, dulce de leche cookies, almond thumbprint cookies, Linzer cookies, thumbprint cookies with icing, and lemon shortbread cookies.
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What are Milano cookies?
Pepperidge Farms created these cookies as a part of their "European" series of cookies. These cookies are made with thin vanilla wafer cookies and filled with a layer of chocolate ganache.
There are plenty of variations for these cookies from pumpkin spice, mint, and peppermint, to orange, milk chocolate, and raspberry.
Why this recipe works
- These cookies have a buttery and soft texture that melts in your mouth.
- They are filled with a rich and scrumptious chocolate ganache.
- It is a not chill cookie recipe, so you don't need to chill the dough!
- These cookies are made with super simple ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen right now!
- These cookies are so much better than store-bought cookies!
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
For the vanilla cookies
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Egg- you will need 1 egg for this cookie dough. Make sure that your egg is at room temperature.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Milk- use your favorite type of milk for this. I used whole milk but you can use plant-based milk as well.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
For the chocolate ganache
Chocolate- use the best quality semisweet or dark chocolate bars for the best flavor. using the best quality dark chocolate is very important in this recipe.
Heavy cream- use full-fat heavy cream for this recipe. This cant is substituted.
Instructions
In a medium mixing bowl, add the softened butter, and granulated sugar. Mix with an electric hand mixer until well combined and creamy.
Add the kosher salt, vanilla extract, milk, and egg, and mix until well combined.
Add the flour and mix until you get a smooth dough. Smooth it out with a spatula.
Transfer the cookie dough to a large piping bag, open a medium size slit, and pipe it evenly as seen in the photos.
Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden brown. Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely.
Make the chocolate ganache
Melt dark chocolate and heavy cream in a small to medium mixing bowl in the microwave for 30-second pulses or in a bain Marie.
Let the chocolate and the cream sit for 10 minutes for the chocolate to melt, then mix until the chocolate ganache is smooth and silky.
Let the chocolate ganache cool in the fridge until it reaches a spreadable texture.
Fill each cookie with a thin layer of chocolate ganache and top it with another cookie to create a sandwich.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Faq's
These cookies are called Milano cookies by the company Pepperidge Farms'. These are not Italian cookies, but they are Italian-inspired cookies.
We use all-purpose flour for this recipe, and cake flour will work great as well.
Yes! You can make the cookie dough and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you are ready to bake, follow the instructions as written.
We used regular unsalted butter for this recipe. If you want to use salted butter in this recipe, simply skip the salt and make the recipe as written.
Storing
Store these cookies at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the fridge for up to 5 days. Store these in an airtight container so they won't dry out.
Freezing
Freezing these cookies is very easy. Simply cover them with a plastic wrap tightly (a few layers) and transfer them into an airtight freezer-friendly container and freeze it for up to 2 months.
Thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for about an hour.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter. Also, use your favorite recipe for dairy-free chocolate ganache.
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Variations
Filling- Fill these cookies with your favorite filling like hazelnut spread, jam, dulce de leche, caramel, etc.
More cookie recipes
No butter chocolate chip cookies- These no butter chocolate chip cookies are the easiest choc chip cookies ever! They are made with oil instead of butter and are so delicious, crispy on the edges, and perfectly chewy in the middle.
Almond biscotti- These easy almond biscotti are crunchy, full of almond flavor and toasted almonds, lightly sweet, and taste amazing next to a cup of hot coffee or tea!
Italian wedding cookies- Italian wedding cookies are shortbread-like cookies that are tossed in powdered sugar and made with only a few simple ingredients!
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📖 Recipe
Homemade Milano Cookies
Ingredients
- 115 g Butter
- ½ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 Egg
- 2 tablespoon Milk
- 1 ½ cups Flour
Chocolate ganache
- 100 g Dark chocolate
- 100 g Heavy cream
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the softened butter, and granulated sugar. Mix with an electric hand mixer until well combined and creamy.
- Add the kosher salt, vanilla extract, milk, and egg, and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour and mix until you get a smooth dough. Smooth it out with a spatula.
- Transfer the cookie dough to a large piping bag, open a medium size slit, and pipe it evenly as seen in the photos.
- Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden brown. Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely.
Make the chocolate ganache
- Melt dark chocolate and heavy cream in a small to medium mixing bowl in the microwave for 30-second pulses or in a bain Marie.
- Let the chocolate and the cream sit for 10 minutes for the chocolate to melt, then mix until the chocolate ganache is smooth and silky.
- Let the chocolate ganache cool in the fridge until it reaches a spreadable texture.
- Fill each cookie with a thin layer of chocolate ganache and top it with another cookie to create a sandwich.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Ridhi
Can egg be replaced in this recipe and if yes, with what?
RichandDelish
Hi! I never tried an egg substitute for this. Sorry.