Milano Cookies

Buttery chocolate filled cookies, inspired by Milano cookies that everyone loves.

For the Cookies

- 8 ounces unsalted butter (softened)*

- 135 grams granulated sugar

- 2 large egg yolks

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 3 tablespoons milk

- 1/2 teaspoon table salt

- 260 grams all purpose flour

For the Filling

- 5 ounces dark chocolate chips (I prefer dark but you can use milk if you prefer)

*Make sure the butter has sat out for multiple hours or it will be more difficult to cream the butter and sugar, if it's not soft enough you can microwave it for a few second but make sure to not melt it.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and adjust the rack to the middle. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together the softened butter and sugar with a paddle attachment on an electric mixer. Start on a low speed and gradually increase it, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and paddle attachment with a spatula

Carefully separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, I recommend using two bowls to ensure you won't get any shells in the batter. Then combine the egg yolks, vanilla, and milk with the butter and sugar, about 30 seconds slowly increasing the speed.

Scrape down the bowl and paddle again. Then add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients. Start at a low speed until it has been combined then slowly move the speed up to avoid getting flour everywhere.

*If the batter looks too thick or difficult to pipe you can add another teaspoon of milk, but it is a thicker batter.

Scrape down the paddle and bowl one last time, then using a large piping bag or plastic bag with a a 1/2 inch round piping tip (you can also snip a hole but a piping tip offers more control) add all of the batter to the bag. It will be a pretty full bag so make sure you use a 14 inch bag. Push all the batter to the tip of the bag. Carefully pipe 1 1/2 inch cookies about 1 inch apart onto a baking tray, it is a stiff batter so be patient. Put the batter in the fridge to keep it from melting after piping.

*It will be hard to pipe at first but after the first few cookies the batter warms up in your hand

Place the tray in the oven for 16-18 minutes, they should be slightly browned around the edges. Take them out of the oven and let them cool for 2 minutes before transferring to a baking rack to let cool for another 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave stirring every 15 seconds, it is important you stir or you will burn the chocolate. Once fully melted, make sure it's not too hot to ensure it wont spill out of the cookies. Using a half teaspoon carefully put chocolate on a cookie and spread it with the back of the spoon. Then place a cookie of similar size and shape and sandwich them. Repeat with remaining cookies. Chill for 10 minutes in freezer, or let set for 1 hour.

Now enjoy some delicious Milano cookies!