Chocolate Glazed Florentines Recipes

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.

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.

FLORENTINES

Steps:

• Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the almonds, flour and zest in a medium bowl. Stir the sugar, butter, cream, and honey in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the almond mixture. Cool the batter for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using 2 teaspoons of batter for each cookie, spoon 8 mounds of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly apart (the cookies will spread). Flatten the batter slightly with your finger.
• Bake the cookies until they are lacy and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Gently slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto a rack and cool completely. Transfer the cookies to paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter, lining the baking sheets with clean parchment for each batch. (The cookies can be made up to this point 2 months ahead. Cool completely, then store airtight in the freezer. Defrost before continuing.)
• Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Spread the melted chocolate over the bottom of 1 cookie. Top with a second cookie, bottom side down, pressing lightly to adhere. Repeat with the remaining cookies and chocolate.

WHITE CHOCOLATE & GINGER FLORENTINES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup together in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring for 8-10 mins until smooth and combined. Turn off the heat and whisk in the flour, then the ginger, almonds, pistachios, orange zest and a pinch of salt.
• Scoop 10-12 tablespoons of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving room between each for spreading. Bake for 10 mins until golden, then leave to cool on the sheets for 2 mins until firm enough to lift onto a wire rack. Leave to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining florentine mixture.
• Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the bowl doesn't touch the water, or in the microwave in 30-second bursts. Carefully flip the florentines over on the wire rack. Spoon the chocolate onto the bases and gently spread it to the edges. When the chocolate has cooled a little, use a fork to draw wavy lines in it, if you like. Leave to set completely (for about 1 hr in a cool room). Will keep in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

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 saucepan, mix together 1/2 cup each of heavy cream and sugar and 3 tablespoons butter and bring the mixture to a boil. Remove it from the heat and stir in 1 1/4 cups finely chopped almonds, 3/4 cup finely chopped candied orange peel, and 1/3 cup flour. Drop the batter from a tablespoon into mounds about 3 inches apart on oiled and lightly floured cookie sheets and flatten each cookie with a wet spatula. Bake the cookies in a moderate oven (350°F) for about 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let them stand for about 5 minutes. Remove the cookies to a wire rack, let them cool completely, and spread them with chocolate glaze. Chill them.
• Chocolate Glaze
• Melt 1 ounce each of unsweetened chocolate and sweet cooking chocolate over simmering water. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 1 teaspoon honey and stir the glaze until the butter is melted. For an easier glaze, use melted bittersweet chocolate.

APRICOT FLORENTINES WITH CHOCOLATE GLAZE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and place in the 350-degree oven, shaking the sheet occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully; nuts burn quickly.
• In a blender or food processor, combine the dried apricots and the flour. Pulse until the apricots are finely diced. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, sugar and butter and cook, stirring, until the butter is melted. Increase the heat to medium-high, bringing the mixture to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the almonds, almond extract and floured apricot pieces, stirring to combine. Drop the batter by the tablespoon, at least 2 inches apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. Using the back of a spoon dipped in water, flatten each cookie until it's smooth. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let them cool just until they are solid enough to be transferred to a rack to cool completely.
• To make the chocolate glaze, in a small saucepan over low heat, melt 1 cup of the chocolate. Remove it from the heat and add the remaining chocolate, stirring until melted and smooth. Using a spatula, spread the bottom of each cooled cookie with the glaze. Run the tines of a fork through the chocolate to create a wavy pattern and place the cookies back on the rack, chocolate side up, to set. (They may be refrigerated to make them set faster.) Store in an airtight container, layered between strips of wax paper.