Florentine Cigars
These crunchy Italian treats may be baked flat and the underside coated with chocolate or you can form them into tubes or 'cigars' by wrapping around cannoli tubes or the handle of a wooden spoon until firm and then fill them with whipped cream.
Florentines - makes 30-32 4-inch florentines
(From Food Network Kitchens)
1 3/4 cups sliced, blanched almonds (~5-6.5 oz) or walnuts
3 tbsp all-purpose flour (or rice flour for a gluten free alternative)
Finely grated zest of 1 orange (~ 2 tbsp)
1/4 tsp fine salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp light corn syrup
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
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.
NOTE: You'll see large bubbles form first as the water in the melted butter boils off before the mixture settle downs to a boil. It's not really rolling the way that water comes to a rolling boil but more like the sort of boil you get in a mixture which is a pudding consistency.
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, about 30 minutes. You may refrigerate the batter to help cool it down faster.
Scoop rounded teaspoons (for 4-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. You may comfortably fit 6 4-inch cookies on each baking sheet. For the larger sized cookies, place only 2 cookies per sheet.
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.
Storage Tips: Store baked cookies carefully, separated by parchment or waxed paper, in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Florentines are best stored separated from moist cookies and cakes.
Sweetened Whipped Cream - filling for 1 dozen florentine tubes
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Whip cream until it's reached the soft peak stage. Add sugar and vanilla, if using, and continue whipping until the cream is stiff. Transfer into a piping bag and fill florentine tubes.
For more pictures of the technique involved, visit the post on my LJ.
Florentines - makes 30-32 4-inch florentines
(From Food Network Kitchens)
1 3/4 cups sliced, blanched almonds (~5-6.5 oz) or walnuts
3 tbsp all-purpose flour (or rice flour for a gluten free alternative)
Finely grated zest of 1 orange (~ 2 tbsp)
1/4 tsp fine salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp light corn syrup
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
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.
NOTE: You'll see large bubbles form first as the water in the melted butter boils off before the mixture settle downs to a boil. It's not really rolling the way that water comes to a rolling boil but more like the sort of boil you get in a mixture which is a pudding consistency.
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, about 30 minutes. You may refrigerate the batter to help cool it down faster.
Scoop rounded teaspoons (for 4-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. You may comfortably fit 6 4-inch cookies on each baking sheet. For the larger sized cookies, place only 2 cookies per sheet.
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.
Storage Tips: Store baked cookies carefully, separated by parchment or waxed paper, in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Florentines are best stored separated from moist cookies and cakes.
Sweetened Whipped Cream - filling for 1 dozen florentine tubes
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Whip cream until it's reached the soft peak stage. Add sugar and vanilla, if using, and continue whipping until the cream is stiff. Transfer into a piping bag and fill florentine tubes.
For more pictures of the technique involved, visit the post on my LJ.