Milan 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.

I made the milan cookies...I did intend to make the mallow cookies but well I just didn't.

These cookies were just ok. The batter spread unevenly leaving odd shaped cookies. I thought they were kinda bland and I prob won't make them again.

Milan Cookies

Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 20 min

Inactive Prep Time: 0 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min

Serves: about 3 dozen 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

• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

• 1 orange, zested
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.

Magic In The Middles

Found the recipe for these at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/magic-in-the-middles-recipe. You should try them....you know you wanna.

Ginger Cookies

2 1/4 cups ap Flour
1 tbsp ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cups butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses

Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, molasses, salt, and ginger. Mix in flour and soda. Roll into balls and coat in sugar. Place on cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Bake 350 f about 10 mins.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Not sure where I got this recipe but I think its from Alton Brown. I really like this recipe because it uses melted butter instead of softened. That means I don't have to plan ahead or try to figure out how to soften that butter because I forgot to lay it out.

Chocolate Chip Cookies:

8 oz unsalted butter, melted

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts (opt)

1 cup toffee (opt)

Mix together flour, salt, and soda. Set aside. Mix sugar, brown sugar, and the melted butter. Add egg, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla. Mix well. Slowly mix in flour mixture. Stir in chips and any other mix ins like nuts or toffee. Scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F until the edges turn golden brown (around 10-15 mins).

The orginal recipe says to chill the dough before scooping and baking. If you chill the dough it won't spead as much. I usually don't chill mine because I like thin cookies. Either way makes a really good cookie. Try doing it both ways and see which you like best.

I dipped the bottoms of mine in tempered chocolate and placed them on a transfer sheet to get that cool pattern on them. Transfer sheets are plastic sheet which has been sprayed with colored cocoa butter to form a pattern. When tempered chocolate is placed on the sheet and allowed to cool the pattern transfers to the chocolate.

Old Fashion Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter, room tem
1 cup vanilla sugar
2 egg yolks
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix flour, salt, and baking powder together.
Cream butter and sugar. Beat in yolks one at a time. Add Vanilla extract. Mix in flour with mixer on low speed.
Form into balls. Roll in vanilla sugar. Place and cookie sheet and flatten with bottom of a glass. Bake at 350 F until edges start to lightly brown.