Milan Cookies

Last week, my girlfriends and I managed to get together for a coffee date/playdate. These cookies were a huge hit. I was looking for a recipe to use up some egg whites I had left over and I found Gale Gand's Milan Cookies.  Gale uses citrus flavors in her recipe, but I'm a big fan of Pepperidge Farm's Mint Milanos, so I substituted vanilla in the cookies and peppermint extract in the chocolate filling. Scrumptious!

Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

Cookies:
12 tablespoons butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour

Filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
Zest of 1/2 an orange or sub 1 tsp peppermint extract (for mint milanos)

Directions
Cream the butter with a paddle attachment then mix in the sugar. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts (if using). Add the flour and mix until just incorporated. 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 since they will spread when baked. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
Cookie Filling: In a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl. Whisk to melt chocolate, add zest or extract and blend well. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools). 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. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.