Florentines

While we were on vacation in Florida this past week, I saw this recipe on Everyday Italian. I love Giada DeLaurentiis and she always makes such yummy looking goodies I really wanted to try this one. (Nevermind the fact that I was in FLORIDA and I was INSIDE watching FOOD NETWORK lol). So, since we are going to The Mr's parents house tomorrow for Christmas, I decided I was going to try to make the Florentines in addition to the green bean casserole I already promised to bring.

The original recipe can be found here. I did make a few minor adjustments based on reader's reviews on the website, and I think that mine came out perfect so I am listing the recipe as I made it.

One word of warning, this is NOT a quick recipe. It took me a little over 2 hours from start to finish so if you're looking for a quick and easy cookie recipe, this isn't the one for you. But, let me say that they are well worth every bit of time and effort.

• 2 cups sliced almonds (chopped, and roasted on a baking sheet for approx 6 minutes at 325 degrees)
• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (cut into pieces)
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 8 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips (you could use dark chocolate too)
• Silicone baking mat (silpat) or parchment paper
  
  

1. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees.



2. Line baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper (I used parchment and sprayed it with Pam just to be safe)



3. In a medium size bowl, stir together almonds, flour, and orange zest until all almonds are coated with flour and the zest is incorporated well.



4. Set that bowl aside and in a small saucepan, stir together butter, sugar, honey and whipping cream over medium heat until sugar dissolves.



5. Bring the mixture to a boil very briefly and then remove from heat and let the mixture settle down (it will be a bit frothy from boiling)



6. Once the froth goes down, pour the butter/sugar/honey/cream mixture over the almond mixture and mix well with a fork or rubber spatula.



7. Cover bowl and put in the fridge for one hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until the mixture is completely cooled (and it will thicken considerably as it cools).



8. Once the mixture is cooled completely, drop six 1-tsp sized balls of batter onto the lined cookie sheet. NOTE: It is VERY important that you only put 6 balls onto the cookie sheet and make sure that they are set very far apart as the mixture will spread like crazy as it bakes.



9. Flatten down the balls into flat 'saucer' shapes, they should be a little larger than a quarter. (doesn't look like much but believe me, you will be surprised when they come out).



10. Bake at 325 for 7 minutes (oven times may vary. it is important to keep an eye on these because one minute can make or break your batch, they burn very quickly).



11. When the edges of the cookies are caramel colored (in my oven, 7 min) remove from oven and immediately use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to pull in and reshape the cookies (they will have spread very thin, you'll need to pull them in so that you can handle them without breaking them).



12. Once you've reshaped the cookies, slide the parchment off of the baking sheet and allow the cookies to cool (on the paper) on the counter for about 5 minutes, then move the entire paper (without removing cookies) to a cooling rack.



13. After the cookies have cooled on the paper on the rack (about 5 more minutes), slowly and carefully peel them off of the parchment. (I slid the parchment off of the edge of the cooling rack, allowing the cookies to come off without me having to pull them or scrape them off).



14. Transfer cookies to a layer of paper towel to absorb the excess butter from the bottom of the cookies.



15. Cover with another paper towel to absorb the additional butter from the top of the cookies.



16. Repeat steps 8-15 until you have made all of your cookies.



17. Once all cookies are cooled on paper towel, melt chocolate chips in a double boiler (or glass bowl over a pot of simmering water) until melted.



18. Using the back of a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, "paint" the bottom side of a cookie with chocolate and place it face down on the paper towel.



19. Take another cookie and place it (bottom side down) on top of the chocolate painted cookie to make a 'sandwich'



20. Continue making cookie sandwiches until all cookies are put together.



21. Transfer to a cookie sheet or other platter and allow to cool (either on the countertop or in the refridgerator).

Whew, that's it. I know, there's a lot of steps. I do admit that this is a very labor intensive recipe but trust me, it is so worth it. They taste fantastic and are very pretty. They definitely have a "wow" factor to them.

Enjoy!!