Florentines - version #1 (Better Homes and Gardens) and some throwaway Almond Cranberry Biscotti
Florentines are on my cooking bucket list and this weekend, while I was attempting my first ever biscotti, using the recipe Eva posted to her blog, which coincidentally share a lot of the same ingredients, I decided to finally give them a try.
The recipe for these delicate Italian cookies comes from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and is the simplest one I found in terms of ingredients and technique. As I didn't have any candied orange peel, I used dried cranberries.
Florentines - makes 18-20
(Better Homes and Gardens "Homemade Cookies Cookbook")
1/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (or yellow sugar)
1/4 cup light cream (half 2% milk and half whipping cream)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
a pinch of salt
3/4 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted (used raw almonds)
1/2 cup candied orange peel, finely chopped (or finely chopped dried cranberries)
4 oz semi-sweet or milk chocolate, melted
Preheat oven to 350-400 deg F. (For a moderately thin cookie, use 375 deg F.)
In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in sugar and cream. Add flour and salt, stir well, Stir in the nuts and peel.
Drop by level tablespoons 3 inches apart onto a greased or Silpat covered cookie sheet. (You should be able to get 6 on an average sized cooking sheet.) With the back of a spoon or your finger, pat down the mound of cookie batter into a 3 inch diameter cookie.
Bake for 9 minutes or until the edges of the cookie are golden brown.
NOTE: All the cookies below were made using the same level tablespoon of batter but the top row was baked for 8 minutes at 400 deg F, the 2nd row for 9 minutes at 375 deg F and the bottom row for 11 minutes at 350 deg F. The thinnest, most delicate cookies were the ones baked at the highest temperature and were the closest to my objective of 'lace' cookies.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven to a cooling rack. Let cool for 3-5 minutes so the cookies will set and with an offset spatula transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to finish hardening. Invert the cookies.
Decorate the florentine bottoms with chocolate:
Finely chop the chocolate and transfer to a small heat proof metal or glass bowl. Set the bowl over a small saucepan with about an inch or so of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is about 1/3 melted. Remove from the heat and keep stirring until all the chocolate is melted. Using a butter knife or an offset spatula, transfer a tsp or so of melted chocolate to the bottom of the florentine and spread thinly. Let set with the chocolate side up. Store right side up in the refrigerator.
Note: You may glue 2 cookies together to make florentine sandwiches. You'll want to use the thinnest cookies (baked at 400 deg F for 8 minutes) for the sandwiches. For thicker cookies bake at 350 deg F for 11 minutes.
Florentine Sandwich cookie prior to assembly
Plate of chocolate based florentines
Chocolate dipped Almond-Cranberry Biscotti from Eva's recipe - cut 1 inch thick
The recipe for these delicate Italian cookies comes from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and is the simplest one I found in terms of ingredients and technique. As I didn't have any candied orange peel, I used dried cranberries.
Florentines - makes 18-20
(Better Homes and Gardens "Homemade Cookies Cookbook")
1/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (or yellow sugar)
1/4 cup light cream (half 2% milk and half whipping cream)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
a pinch of salt
3/4 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted (used raw almonds)
1/2 cup candied orange peel, finely chopped (or finely chopped dried cranberries)
4 oz semi-sweet or milk chocolate, melted
Preheat oven to 350-400 deg F. (For a moderately thin cookie, use 375 deg F.)
In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in sugar and cream. Add flour and salt, stir well, Stir in the nuts and peel.
Drop by level tablespoons 3 inches apart onto a greased or Silpat covered cookie sheet. (You should be able to get 6 on an average sized cooking sheet.) With the back of a spoon or your finger, pat down the mound of cookie batter into a 3 inch diameter cookie.
Bake for 9 minutes or until the edges of the cookie are golden brown.
NOTE: All the cookies below were made using the same level tablespoon of batter but the top row was baked for 8 minutes at 400 deg F, the 2nd row for 9 minutes at 375 deg F and the bottom row for 11 minutes at 350 deg F. The thinnest, most delicate cookies were the ones baked at the highest temperature and were the closest to my objective of 'lace' cookies.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven to a cooling rack. Let cool for 3-5 minutes so the cookies will set and with an offset spatula transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to finish hardening. Invert the cookies.
Decorate the florentine bottoms with chocolate:
Finely chop the chocolate and transfer to a small heat proof metal or glass bowl. Set the bowl over a small saucepan with about an inch or so of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is about 1/3 melted. Remove from the heat and keep stirring until all the chocolate is melted. Using a butter knife or an offset spatula, transfer a tsp or so of melted chocolate to the bottom of the florentine and spread thinly. Let set with the chocolate side up. Store right side up in the refrigerator.
Note: You may glue 2 cookies together to make florentine sandwiches. You'll want to use the thinnest cookies (baked at 400 deg F for 8 minutes) for the sandwiches. For thicker cookies bake at 350 deg F for 11 minutes.
Florentine Sandwich cookie prior to assembly
Plate of chocolate based florentines
Chocolate dipped Almond-Cranberry Biscotti from Eva's recipe - cut 1 inch thick