Homemade Milano Cookies
If you love Milano Cookies, you’ll love these Homemade Milano Cookies. Light and crisp cookies are sandwiched with real semi-sweet chocolate and perfumed with orange zest.
Who doesn’t love Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies, right? My Crisp Lemon Thin Cookies had a texture similar to Milano cookies, light yet crisp.
It was just a short leap to turn those cookies into my own version of Homemade Milano Cookies. Since chocolate and orange is always a great combination, that’s the flavor combination I went for. But you can eliminate the orange flavoring and make the classic Milano Cookies with semi sweet chocolate filling.
Are Milano Cookies shortbread?
No, classic shortbread cookies are thick and buttery and made with almost equal portions of butter, sugar and flour and nothing more. Milano cookies are very light and thin cookies made with egg and baking soda for leavening.
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Orange
- Orange extract
- Vanilla extract
- Egg
- Table salt
- Baking soda
- All purpose flour
- Semi-sweet chocolate
How to make Homemade Milano Cookies
- Thanks to my extensive recipe testing for the Lemon Thin Cookies, it only took one shot to get my Homemade Milano Cookies just right.
- There were no significant changes to the original lemon recipe, just a simple swap of orange flavorings instead of lemon flavorings.
- To mimic the shape and size of Milano cookies pipe the batter into strips, about 3″ long and about 1/2″ wide. As they bake, the strips spread to form the iconic oval shape of the original cookies. If you don’t have a piping bag you can scoop the cookies and make round Milanos.
How to work ahead
- The batter for Homemade Milano Cookies can be made and refrigerated for 1 day before baking. Bring the batter back to room temperature before piping.
- To work further ahead, pipe or scoop the batter onto parchment paper. Slide the paper onto a baking sheet and place the sheet in the freezer. Once the unbaked cookies are frozen they sheets can be stacked, wrapped and held in the freezer for up to a month. Allow the piped cookies to defrost before baking.
How to Store Homemade Milano Cookies
Freshly baked Milano Cookies will keep at room temperature for 2-3 days. For longer term storage the cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Enjoy them straight from the freezer or allow them to defrost before serving.
If you love these cookies as much as I do, please consider leaving a 5-star rating.
Homemade “Milano” Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 ounces unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 6 ounces confectioner’s sugar (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 orange (finely grated zest, divided)
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon real orange extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 5 ounces all purpose flour (1 cup, see note)
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (chopped)
Instructions
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (see note). Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- Cream the butter, sugar and half the orange zest until light and fluffy.5 ounces unsalted butter, 6 ounces confectioner’s sugar, 1 orange
- Scrape the bowl. Add the orange juice, orange extract and vanilla, mix until well combined. Add the egg and mix until well combined. Scrape the bowl.1 tablespoon orange juice, 1/2 teaspoon real orange extract, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg
- Add the salt, baking soda and flour and mix until incorporated.1/4 teaspoon table salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 5 ounces all purpose flour
- Use a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2″ plain tip to pipe 3″ long cookies. Alternately, use a .75 oz scoop or a tablespoon to scoop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2″ between the cookies. They will spread as they bake.
- Bake until the edges are golden brown and the middle of the cookies are set, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
- While the cookies are cooling, melt the chocolate in a microwave or over a double boiler. Stir the remaining orange zest into the melted chocolate.8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- Pair the cookies up by size and shape. Use a small spatula to spread a thin layer of melted chocolate onto the flat side of one cookie in each pair.
- Sandwich the cookies and allow the chocolate to set.
Equipment
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I’m normally not a crispy cookie person, but I love milanos and these look SO good! I love the chocolate orange combination – yum!
Thanks, Lauren. I like them because, like Milanos, they’re crispy and light. I hope you give them a try.