A classic union of vanilla and chocolate, crispy Milano™ cookies remind us of cookie trays at Italian weddings. Everybody loves ‘em. So why not whip up a fresh batch at home? It just takes just a few standard ingredients and some simple piping. And with a deliciously vanilla-forward, buttery flavor, these actually beat the originals.
Turns out that making them yourself may be the only alternative to buying from Pepperidge Farm. Litigiously protective of its Milano brand, the company won’t tolerate copycats. They sued Trader Joe’s in 2015 over their somewhat similar “Crispy Cookies Filled with Belgian Chocolate.” They settled, and apparently Trader Joe’s caved.
Copycats?
And yet Pepperidge Farm could call themselves copycats…literally. Milano cookies copy “cats’ tongues”—thin, buttery, vanilla wafers that go back hundreds of years in France. European bakers sandwiched together these langues de chats (or lingue di gatto in Italy) with a rich ganache filling way before Pepperidge Farm first fired up its ovens in 1937.
Pepperidge Farm debuted Milano cookies in the 1950s and their notorious trademark protects the shape, look, and packaging. But fear not, they can’t own a recipe.
Dorie Greenspan, the Cookie Maven herself, wrote in Baking Chez Moi, “I think langues de chat were the inspiration for Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies, although I have no evidence for this.” Nice disclaimer.
So, we suspect Pepperidge Farm copied cats’ tongues, but we have no evidence (wink, wink). And we certainly didn’t swipe their recipe from any secret corporate vault. Pepperidge Farm would agree, since—unlike our version—their Milano cookies contain no butter. (Neither does Pepperidge Farm’s famous puff pastry. See Quick Puff Pastry for our easy, buttery alternative.)
Cats’ tongues, improved
Cats’ tongues traditionally contain just sugar, butter, egg whites, flour, salt and vanilla. Besides egg whites, we add whole eggs for a little more richness. And using the whole egg also puts those yolks to work.
Traditional cats’ tongues tend to wimp out on flavor. So our recipe splashes in an extra blast of vanilla (our signature hack) to awaken taste buds. And since vanilla is as much a flavor enhancer as a flavor, most people won’t be able to tell what makes these cookies taste so good.
So don’t depend on Big Cookie for your fix of Milanos. Bake up your own big batch and freeze them for any occasion. Even an Italian wedding.
“Milano” Cookies (Cats’ Tongues with Chocolate Ganache)
Makes about 48 sandwich cookies, baked in 3 batches. Recipe halves well.
Special equipment: ½-inch round piping tip (6T, 1A or 806, depending upon the brand) and a pastry bag
Cats’ Tongues Cookies
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 2 ½ cups confectioners sugar
- 2 egg whites, room temperature
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract (yes, tablespoons)
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
Ganache Filling
- 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips
- 4 ounces heavy cream
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut two pieces of parchment paper, one for each cookie sheet. Draw 16 lines on each piece of paper, each about 2 ¼ inches long and a couple of inches apart, in four rows. Using a drop of vegetable oil, stick the paper with the marked side down onto each cookie sheet and set aside.
- Whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.
- Using a mixer, cream the butter and powdered sugar together until light. Add egg whites and eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition. (Don’t worry if it looks a little curdled. The flour will smooth it out.) Stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Add the flour mixture, and mix lightly until just combined.
- Fit a piping bag with a ½-inch round piping tip (see tip equivalents above) and fill with the cookie batter.
- Holding the pastry bag at a 90° angle, pipe along the lines marked on the parchment paper. As you pipe, keep the pastry tip close to the parchment paper. Release the cookie batter by running the tip back over the top of the cookie. The batter will flatten out as it bakes.
- Bake two cookie sheets at a time for 9 – 15 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown. Rotate sheets about halfway through. Cookie centers should remain somewhat pale. Cookies will crisp up as they cool. Remove cookies and let cool completely on a rack before filling with chocolate ganache. Reuse the marked parchment papers to pipe the remaining two batches.
- For the ganache: Pour cream and about half the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips into a bowl. Heat in the microwave until cream starts to simmer and chocolate melts. (Alternately, heat cream in a saucepan on the stovetop until it simmers and pour over the chocolate.) Stir until smooth. Add the remainder of the chocolate, stirring until completely melted and smooth. Allow ganache to cool and thicken slightly before using it to fill the cookies.
- Sort through cookies to pair by size and shape. Spread about a teaspoon of the ganache onto a cookie and top with its pair. The ganache will eventually harden. You can refrigerate to speed up setting.
- Store in airtight containers for up to 5 days, or freeze to keep them crispy.
Note: Refrigerate or freeze leftover ganache. Defrost frozen ganache in the refrigerator overnight, or on the counter for a few hours. Heat briefly in the microwave to melt to spreading consistency.
