Light and crispy, with a chocolate-covered base, Florentine cookies are popular around the world for good reason. These delicious almond cookies filled with dried fruits and caramel make a great gift for the holidays. In addition, the original Florentine recipe can be easily adapted to the tastes of those who prepare it and prefer to take creative liberties rather than just follow the instructions. If these arguments aren't enough for you to bake the recipe, just take a look at the pictures in this article. We're sure you'll turn on the oven right afterward.
Florentine Cookies – What are they?
Florentine cookies are a combination of chopped or sliced nuts, dried fruit and a caramel coating. One might think that it is an Italian pastry, but the origin is not really known, although it is believed to be a French creation.
The classic basic recipe always consists of thinly sliced almonds, iced cherries and sultanas, which are coated with a mixture of melted butter, flour and sugar and baked until golden. The base is then covered with dark chocolate. These almond cookies arethe perfect Christmas cookie. The bright red cherries and orange zest make these cookies a perfect festive treat.
Ingredients:Like many other favorite recipes, the ingredients in Florentine cookies change over time and adapt to those who prepare them. Florentines with cornflakes, for example, are a more modern version of the original recipe, which we used for our Florentine cookies. We also added orange zest and a little honey, which takes these almond cookies to the next level.
Variations:
- Cornflakes:If you don't like the idea of cornflakes, just use more almonds instead of cornflakes.
- Dried fruits:The only limit is your imagination. Try dried blueberries, figs, apricots, cranberries. Make sure the fruit is not cut larger than a raisin.
- With a tropical note:Try a tropical version with coconut flakes, lime zest and dried mango and dipped in white chocolate.
Recipe for light and crispy Florentine cookies
These crispy and sweet Florentine cookies are a popular cookie classic.
yield: 10 cookies
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 22 minutes
Total time: 32 minutes
Ingredients:
- 70 g chopped almonds
- 20 g 20 g Cornflakes
- ¼ cup iced cherries, halved (5-6 cherries)
- 2 tablespoons sultanas (or raisins)
- ½ teaspoon orange peel
- 45 g unsalted butter
- 50g. (¼ cup) white granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey (or golden syrup)
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 75g dark (70%) chocolate
equipment: Muffin tray with 12 holes and non-stick coating
Follow these steps to prepare
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the holes of a 12-hole muffin tin with butter, then place a strip of non-stick baking paper about 3cm wide in each hole, with the ends sticking out.
- Place the almonds, cornflakes, cherries, sultanas and orange peel in a large bowl and set aside.
- Stir the butter, sugar, honey and flour in a saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Pour the sauce over the almond mixture and mix well. It will be sticky, but keep mixing until everything is coated.
- Add a large spoonful of the mixture to the pan without pressing it. This makes 10 cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 16-18 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden in color.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely in the tin and then lift them out using the ends of the excess baking paper.
- Melt the chocolate and dip the bottoms of the cookies. Then place the cookies upside down on a tray in the fridge to set.
Florentine from the tin – Useful tips
- Grease your muffin tin well, then place a thin strip of baking paper in each hole, with the ends sticking out. You can use two strips to be sure.
- If you prefer a rustic look or want to save yourself the trouble of greasing and lining muffin cups, simply line 2 cookie trays with baking paper and spoon the mixture directly onto the paper. Make sure to leave 5cm between them, otherwise they may spread out a bit. Once out of the oven, use a spoon to gently press any escaping caramel back into the cookies.
- Be careful! The cookies will be runny and hot when they come out of the oven, so don't touch them. When they come out of the oven they appear to be fluffy, but as they cool they harden and stick together.
Would you like to sweeten your holidays even more? Then you should definitely try these coconut cookies? Great recipes, including gluten-free and lactose-free,can be found here!
