“Bud’s Favorites”
Five dozen cookies
(My interpretation of “Milanos”)
3 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp fine sea salt
12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves (the younger the better)
Zest of one large lime
2 tsp vanilla paste
10 ounces mini chocolate chips
8 ounces dark chocolate
1) In a spice grinder (or mortar and pestle), grind together the granulated sugar and the mint until fully chopped and the sugar turns a pale green.
2) Place the minted sugar, the confectioner’s sugar and the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer and cream together on low for 5-8 minutes.
3) Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line four sheet pans with parchment paper.
4) Whisk together the flour and the salt.
5) Add the vanilla and lime zest to the creamed mixture and mix for 1 minutes. Slowly add the flour on low speed until fully incorporated – do not overmix.
6) Add in the mini chocolate chips and mix briefly on low until evenly incorporated.
7) If you have time, divide the dough into two pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for one hour. You can go ahead with the recipe if you are in a hurry.
8) Roll ½ the dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼” thick. Cut into 1 ½” circles and place them on the baking sheets about 1” apart. Gather the scraps and roll again and cut into the circles. Then do the same with the second half of the dough.
9) Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the edges are just beginning to brown. Remove them from the oven, let them cool 5 minutes on the pans and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
10) When the cookies are cool, melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler, or microwave in twenty second zaps until smooth. Dip the edges of the cookies into the chocolate and place them on a sheet of parchment to fully set.
