Florentine Cookies
Out of all the Christmas cookies I baked, I have to say that these were by far my favorite and the most addicting. The cookies are super thin and crunchy and sandwiched with a layer of dark chocolate. There is only a few tablespoons of flour in this recipe and I substituted rice flour to make them gluten free for a friend. I found no difference in taste between the regular and gluten free recipe so if you are gluten free or a friend is, I would definitely give it a try!
What you need:
1 3/4 cups sliced, blanched almonds (about 5 ounces)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Finely grated zest of 1 orange (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dark chocolate for the filling
What to do:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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. *
4. 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.
5. 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.
7. 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.**
8. For chocolate decor: Drizzle melted chocolate over Florentines as desired. Set aside at room temperature until chocolate is set.
(I put mine on a baking sheet and then in the fridge to set faster)
Tips:
*I put my mixture in the fridge to set faster, for me it took around 15 mintues and then it was easier to handle
**This recipe suggests 1/2 tsp of chocolate to sandwich the cookies, I would suggest using more if you want a more chocolatey taste. I poured the chocolate on the then spread it thinly with a straight steel spatula.
Recipe from: Food Network
