Florentine Cookies Recipes

FLORENTINES (ITALY)

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
• Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped, but not pasty. Stir together the nuts, flour, zest and salt in a large bowl.
• Put the sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a rolling boil and sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, then pour mixture into almond mixture and stir just to combine. Set aside until cool enough to handle, 30 minutes.
• Scoop rounded teaspoons (for 3-inch cookies) or rounded tablespoons (for 6-inch cookies) of batter and roll into balls. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 3 to 4 inches between each cookie since they spread.
• Bake 1 pan at a time, until the cookies are thin and an even golden brown color throughout, rotating pans halfway through baking time, about 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve.
• Optional chocolate topping: Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very low simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, about 1 to 2 minutes more.)
• For sandwiches: Drop about 1/2 teaspoon chocolate onto on the flat side of half of the cookies and press together with remaining halves. Return to rack and let chocolate set.
• For chocolate decor: Drizzle melted chocolate over Florentines as desired. Set aside at room temperature until chocolate is set.

LACE COOKIES (FLORENTINE COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner (such as Silpat®).
• Place almonds into the bowl of a food processor; alternate pulsing and running at full speed every few seconds until finely chopped and crumblike. Be careful not to go too far; you don't want them too fine and pasty.
• Combine butter, brown sugar, and honey in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir a few times and cook until melted and dissolved. Bring to a boil, then carefully remove from the heat.
• Add vanilla extract, salt, and flour, and whisk until smooth. Add chopped almonds and mix with a spatula until everything is combined.
• Drop eight uniformly sized, rounded spoonfuls of batter (each about 2 teaspoons, or 15 grams) onto the prepared sheet. Fine-tune the cookie shapes and make sure they are evenly spaced.
• Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake until golden brown and a bit darker around the outsides, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
• Remove from the oven and slide the silicone liner off the baking sheet and directly onto the countertop. Allow to sit until cool and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes, then gently peel cookies off the liner. Repeat to bake remaining batches.
• Spread melted chocolate over the flat side of one cookie. Place a second cookie, flat-side down, on top to make a sandwich and press very gently to seal. Repeat to form remaining cookies. Let sit until chocolate has firmed up, about 30 minutes.

FLORENTINE COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Combine honey, sugar, and butter in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the temperature reaches 238 degrees (the soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine nuts, dried fruit, flour, and spices.
• Pour honey-sugar mixture over contents in large bowl, stirring with a wooden spoon to combine. When cool enough to handle, form into 1-inch balls with hands coated with vegetable shortening to prevent sticking. Place on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat mat or parchment paper, and flatten into balls with the palm of your hand. Bake until bubbled on top, about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.
• Meanwhile, melt the chocolate: In the top of a double boiler or in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stir chocolate with a spatula until smooth. Working quickly, using a small offset spatula, spread a thick layer of chocolate on the back of each cooled cookie. Place cookies, chocolate side up, on a wire rack until chocolate is hardened. Store between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container.

FLORENTINE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan. Remove from heat and mix in oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Drop by level teaspoonfuls 3 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Spread cookies out thin with a rubber spatula.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheets.
• Meanwhile, place chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir frequently, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching, until chocolate is melted and smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Peel foil from cookies. Spread melted chocolate on 1/2 of the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies.

FLORENTINE COOKIE BARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Gradually add flour and mix well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle., Roll dough into an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake at 375° for 7-9 minutes or until lightly browned., Meanwhile, in a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cream, butter and honey. Cook, stirring occasionally, until a candy thermometer reads 246° (firm-ball stage). Remove from the heat; stir in the almonds, cherries and currants. Spread evenly into crust., Bake for 18-22 minutes or just until filling is set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate overnight., Remove florentine from pan. With a sharp knife, trim edges of crust; discard the trim. Cut lengthwise into six strips; cut each strip into 16 triangles., In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip the short side of each triangle into candy coating; place on waxed paper. Drizzle with additional candy coating. Let stand until set. Cover and store in the refrigerator.

CLASSIC FLORENTINE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Line a baking tray with a silicone-coated liner.
• Place the sliced almonds in a re-sealable bag and crush them a little using a rolling pin or even your hands. Set aside.
• Place the sugar, honey and whipping cream in a small saucepot and bring up to a full boil while stirring, and continue to boil and stir until the mixture reaches 244 °F (118 °C) on a candy thermometer. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the almonds and transfer this to a bowl to cool for about 15 minutes.
• Have a bowl of cool water on hand as well as a 2 ½-inch (65 mm) round cookie cutter. Drop small teaspoonfuls of the almond batter onto the prepared baking tray, leaving at least 3 to 4 inches (75-100 mm) between the spoonfuls to allow for spreading. With wet fingers, press down the almond batter a little. Bake the Florentines for about 12 minutes, until they have flattened and have browned evenly (you may find rotating the pans halfway through baking promotes even browning). Let the Florentines sit for 30 to 90 seconds to set a little (but not fully). Dip the cookie cutter in the cool water and press it into each cookie to cut a precise circle. Now allow the cookies to fully cool and use a palette knife to carefully lift them off the tray, carefully pulling away the trimmings. Repeat with the remaining batter (and keep the cookie trimming scraps - they make an excellent topping for ice cream, or stirred into a cheesecake batter.
• Once the Florentines have fully cooled, prepare the chocolate for brushing on each. To temper the chocolate, you will need a marble board (or a granite or other stone countertop, or a stainless steel counter will also do). Place all of the chopped chocolate in a metal bowl and set this over a pot of barely simmering water (no bubbles visible), stirring gently until melted and the temperature reaches 113 - 122 °F (45-50 °C). Pour two thirds of the chocolate onto your marble surface and set bowl with the remaining chocolate off to the side on a towel (away from heat and not on the marble).
• Using two putty knives, or a palette knife & bench scraper, spread out the chocolate into a thin layer and use your tools to push the chocolate back into the centre of the board, scarping your tools to clean them of the chocolate at each push. This action of moving the chocolate plus the cooling property of the marble will lower the temperature of the chocolate. Keep repeating this process or spreading and scraping in until a temperature of 81 - 82 °F (27-28 °C) is achieved.
• Stir and check the temperature of your reserved chocolate - it should have cooled to about 104 - 113 °F (40-45 °C). Now add the marble-cooled chocolate back to the bowl and stir for about 30 seconds before checking the temperature - it should be between 88 - 90 °F (31-32 °C) and is now "tempered". To double check, dip a piece of parchment into the chocolate and set on your marble - it should start setting within a minute or two.
• Use a pastry brush to brush an even layer of the chocolate onto the back of each Florentine and place these on a parchment-lined baking tray** to set. Pop the tray in the fridge for 3-5 minutes, just for a final "cure" or set, but then remove to store the Florentines in a cool place, in an airtight container. ** As a decorative option, you can use cocoa butter transfer sheets (found at stores that carry cake decorating supplies) and place the chocolate brushed Florentine on the sheet. Chill the Florentines as above, then peel then off the transfer sheet, revealing a lovely, shiny design and store.The Florentines will keep for up to a week.

FLORENTINE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat a convection oven to 325 degrees F, or preheat a regular oven to 350 degrees.
• Melt the butter in a medium-size heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the corn syrup and sugar to the pan, increase the heat to medium, and cook until the syrup is simmering.
• Meanwhile, mix the almonds and flour in a small bowl, and then add them to the simmering syrup. Stir with a wooden spoon until well blended, and then remove from heat.
• Pour mixture into bowl, using a rubber spatula to scrape, and then let cool.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Form into 1-ounce balls for large cookies or 1/2-ounce balls for small cookies, placing them on the parchment paper 3 inches apart from each other, as they will spread drastically. Bake until just starting to turn golden brown, about 5 to 8 minutes. The baking time will vary depending on what size the cookies are.
• As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, shape them into cups by molding each cookie around the bottom of a small cup or glass. They must still be warm to hold this shape.

FLORENTINES - FIORENTINE (FLORENTINE COOKIES)

Steps:

• Finely chop walnuts, almonds, raisins, orange and lemon peel, cherries, and ginger.
• Melt butter in a saucepan, then add sugar and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved.
• Bring to a boil and let it boil for 1 minute without stirring (until just turning light golden).
• Remove from heat and mix well with cream and fruit-nut mixture.
• Spoon heaped teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet (if you have a Silpat, use it!), leaving plenty of space for spreading- try only doing four at a time until you see how large they spread.
• Bake at 300 degrees F for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Let cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute before carefully removing with spatula.
• Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave and spread thinly on flat side of cookies.

FLORENTINE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375*F.
• Line a cookie sheet with a baking mat or non-stick foil.
• In a small saucepan, melt butter.
• Add brown sugar, oatmeal, flour and milk and bring to a boil.
• Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Remove from heat and add vanilla.
• Using a teaspoon (NOT TABLESPOON!), spoon out 5 teaspoons of cookie batter onto the cookie sheet in a zigzag pattern. You'll only be able to cook 5 cookies at a time, anymore and they will run together. The cookies will spread to 3-4 times their size when baking so they need plenty of room to spread.
• Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool completely on the cookie sheet before removing from the pan to a cooling rack.
• This recipe works best with 3 or 4 cookie sheets going at a time so that the cookies can fully cool (about 10 minutes per pan) while others are in the oven.
• Once cookies are cool, store in an AIRTIGHT container.
• Humidity and moisture will soften these and make them chewy.
• They should be paper thin and crispy when fully cooled.

FLORENTINE COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange the racks to divide the oven into thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
• Place the almonds, flour, and zest in a medium bowl and toss with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to combine; set aside.
• Place the sugar, butter, corn syrup, cream, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the almond mixture, and stir to combine.
• Drop heaping teaspoons of the batter at least 3 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets, 6 per sheet. Using a rubber spatula, pat the batter out into 2-inch-wide circles, spreading the almonds into an even single layer.
• Place both sheets in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom and bake until the florentines are light golden brown around the edges, about 4 to 5 minutes more. Remove from the oven to wire racks and let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes. Carefully remove the florentines from the baking sheets with a thin metal spatula, transfer to the wire racks, and cool completely. Repeat with the remaining batter-you can reuse the baking sheets and parchment while still warm. Reserve the parchment sheets for drizzling the chocolate over the cooled cookies, if using.
• 6Place the cooled cookies on the reserved parchment sheets. Melt the chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat. (Alternatively, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in short increments to avoid burning the chocolate.) Dip a fork into the chocolate and drizzle it over the florentines in a zigzag pattern. Let the cookies sit until the chocolate has set, about 30 minutes. Store the florentines in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

FLORENTINES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour then add the cherries, flaked almonds, pistachios and orange zest.
• Scoop 10 flat tbsp of the mixture onto the baking sheets, leaving room for them to spread. You will need to do these in batches. Bake for 10 mins until golden. Leave to cool for 2 mins until firm enough to lift onto a wire rack. Cool completely. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a simmering saucepan of water or in the microwave in 30 second bursts. Turn the florentines over on the wire rack. Spoon chocolate onto the base of each florentine and gently spread to the edges. When the chocolate is firm enough to hold its shape, use a fork to draw wavy lines across the chocolate. Leave to set and then store in an airtight container.

FLORENTINES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, cream, honey, lemon zest and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 4 minutes or until a candy thermometer reads 225°. Remove from the heat; stir in almonds and orange peel., Drop by scant tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350° until golden brown, 6-8 minutes. Immediately flatten warm cookies with the back of a spoon. Cool completely on parchment paper., If desired, melt chips in a microwave; stir until smooth. Spread or brush over bottoms of cookies. Use a fork to create wavy lines in chocolate. Place a cherry half in the center. Let stand until set.