It was time again for the Daring Baker's Challenge from the Daring Kitchen. I messed up last month. I posted my lemon-frangipane tart a few weeks too early. I am trying to play by the rule now, and so here it is, officially posted, on 27 July 2009. 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.
And there I was...choosing between one of my favorite cookies (milanos - as in Pepperidge Farm) and a cookie that had marshmallow. Since marshmallow is something that makes its way into my kitchen quite often, I stayed with the milano recipe. I based it off of the recipe given to us, but added mint extract since I am a HUGE fan of mint and chocolate together. The combination just works for me - and works quite well. I also wanted to try a different shape for the cookies, so I piped them into squares and used square cookie cutters when they were hot and just coming out of the oven. For some of the cookies, I went a bit over the top. I layered the chocolate in between two cookies. I then covered the cookies in chocolate and layered them in between two other cookies - kind of like a double-stuffed milano. The result: absolute minty-decadence! True love at first bite.
Recipe adapted from Gail Gand - the FoodNetwork site
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies (or more...)
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 6 lg egg whites
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows
Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
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 extract.
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. (You can also use a plastic food storage/sandwich bag and cut the corner off so that you squeeze the batter out of the corner.) The batter is quite thin, almost like cake batter. IT WILL SPREAD! If you want to shape the cookies into shapes like squares, do so once they come out of the oven with a cookie cutter.
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 peppermint extract 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.
11. If you want to make a double stuffed cookie, complete as above, then emerge the cookie into the chocolate, let cool, and place in between two other cookies. I think the double-stuffed are the best - yes, they are entirely TOO decadent, but if you are going to eat these butter-laden cookies, why the hell not!
