This Milano Cookies Recipe yields a copycat of the classic store-bought sandwich cookies with 6 ingredients, a little salt, and just 30 minutes! Options for regular or gluten-free Milano cookies are included.
Why You’ll Love This Milano Cookies Recipe
When I was young, my mom didn’t buy a lot of desserts for the house, but she did love Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies so we enjoyed them often. I loved the light, crisp, and buttery cookie base with rich chocolate sandwiched in the center.
I’m not usually a fan of a store-bought cookie, but a classic Milano cookie is a nostalgic treat. Now that I’m gluten-free, I can’t have these delicious cookies anymore. So, I decided to recreate a gluten-free, homemade version with just 6 simple ingredients (not counting salt). They turned out so delicious and exactly how I remembered!
If you’re not gluten-free, simply swap out the gluten-free flour blend for all-purpose flour. Feel free to use this recipe as a base and try different fillings for the cookie sandwiches (mint extract for mint Milanos, dark chocolate for a richer filling).
Watch a Short Video of This Recipe!
Ingredient Notes
- butter
- powdered sugar
- large egg
- vanilla extract
- gluten-free all-purpose flour: I used Bob’s Red Mill. Another good option is King Arthur measure for measure flour.
- sea salt
- semisweet chocolate chips: You can also use milk chocolate or dark chocolate depending on your preference.
Equipment
- Baking sheet or cookie sheet
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand mixer
- Sheets of parchment paper or silicone mat
- Large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer
- Large pastry bag or zip-top bag with piping tip (or cut the corner of the bag)
- Wire rack
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and powdered sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine.
- Add in flour and sea salt and mix until just combined.
- Transfer the cookie dough to a piping bag or a resealable bag with the corner snipped off about 1 inch wide.
- Pipe 3-inch long logs on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. The oval shape doesn’t have to be perfect, they’ll set in the oven.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes until the centers are set. Turn off the oven and leave the oven door ajar. Leave the cookies to crisp up for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a rubber spatula to transfer to a cooling rack until cooled completely.
- Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave at 30-second increments until smooth.
- Add a spoonful of melted chocolate onto one cookie, spread it out with the back of the spoon, then sandwich the chocolate with another cookie. Repeat with the rest of the cookies. Set aside to set.
Expert Tips
- The key here is to use room-temperature ingredients (butter and egg). Using these at room temperature helps to ensure that your cookies are light, tender, and uniform.
- Piping the cookies is the most difficult part of the recipe, but the good news is that the shapes don’t have to be perfect. They will puff up and set nicely in the oven so don’t worry too much if the shapes don’t look perfectly oval.
- There are so many ways to serve these cookies– on their own, with coffee, as part of a table spread, on top of an ice cream sundae, brought to a cookie exchange, and more! They’re versatile and delicious!
Storage Tips
Leftovers will stay fresh for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. For longer storage, you can refrigerate them, but be aware they may become firmer when chilled. You can also freeze these cookies; just remember that they might be softer after defrosting, but they’ll still taste great.
Recipe FAQs
The storebought version mentions these ingredients on its packaging:
ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SEMI SWEET CHOCOLATE (SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, COCOA BUTTER, MILKFAT, SOY LECITHIN, VANILLA EXTRACT), SUGAR, VEGETABLE OILS (PALM AND/OR SOYBEAN AND HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN), EGGS, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: CORNSTARCH, SALT, BAKING SODA, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL FLAVOR, NONFAT MILK. CONTAINS: WHEAT, MILK, SOY, EGGS.
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes
- Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies
- Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chipless Cookies
- Taylor Swift’s Chai Cookies
- Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Best Ever S’mores Cookies
Homemade Milano Cookies Recipe (Gluten-Free Option)
Video
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1¼ cup gluten free all purpose flour I used Bob's Red Mill
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and powdered sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine.
- Add in flour and sea salt and mix until just combined.
- Transfer the dough to a piping bag or a resealable bag with the corner snipped off about 1 inch wide.
- Pipe 3-inch long logs on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. The shapes don’t have to be perfect, they’ll set in the oven.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes until the centers are set. Turn off the oven and leave the oven door ajar. Leave the cookies to crisp up for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a spatula to transfer to a cooling rack until cooled completely.
- Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave at 30 second increments until smooth.
- Add a spoonful of melted chocolate on to one cookie, spread it out with the back of the spoon, then sandwich the chocolate with another cookie. Repeat with the rest of the cookies. Set aside to set.
Notes
Expert Tips
- The key here is to use room-temperature ingredients (butter and egg). Using these at room temperature helps to ensure that your cookies are light, tender, and uniform.
- Piping the cookies is the most difficult part of the recipe, but the good news is that the shapes don’t have to be perfect. They will puff up and set nicely in the oven so don’t worry too much if the shapes don’t look perfectly oval.
- There are so many ways to serve these cookies– on their own, with coffee, as part of a table spread, on top of an ice cream sundae, brought to a cookie exchange, and more! They’re versatile and delicious!
Storage Tips
Leftovers will stay fresh for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. For longer storage, you can refrigerate them, but be aware they may become firmer when chilled. You can also freeze these cookies; just remember that they might be softer after defrosting, but they’ll still taste great.What Great Grandma Ate / Jean Choi is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
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Hello can we use any other flower?
You can use regular all purpose flour!
Okay, Thank you so much 😊
Followed recipe but was not very good. Recipe seemed very straight forward and simple but maybe didn’t cook long enough or over mixed? They were soft, fell apart and very apparent it was GF flour. My toddler still like it though
I’m so sorry that the cookies fell apart! It sounds like you may have added too much flour or you overmixed the dough. When measuring flour, make sure to fluff it up in the container then scoop it with a spoon into the measuring cup before leveling it for an accurate measurement.
Delicious! I’m gluten free and these brought me back to my childhood. Perfect crisp texture and amazing flavor.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
Hi! Could I use margarine? We have a butter shortage where I am living currently!
Yes, that should work. But I would use stick margarine, instead of the ones that come in a tub.