Florentines! These are a wonderful cookie-type treat, with lots of delicious goodies in them, and coated on one side with white or dark or milk chocolate. A really easy recipe!
Florentines are truly a most wonderful sweet treat! They are luxurious and of course, always made with love.
For those not familiar with florentines, they are a treat that mainly appears during Christmas time, and given as gifts to friends and family. You can buy them in good European food stores, but they can often be very expensive, given the ingredients used.
What are Florentines?
In a nutshell, florentines are a thin cookie, made up of a caramel type base, similar to brandy snaps, which is coated on one side with your choice of chocolate, and then the top has a variety of dried fruits and nuts, making for a very pretty, festive looking treat.
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What fruits and nuts can I use?
You can choose your favorite fruits and nuts to go in these florentines, so don't be afraid to experiment a little and add the things you love the most.
Here, Carina made a batch of florentines and chose a variety of cherries, candied peel, walnuts, almonds and pistachios.
So let's see what we have to do to get these into our kitchens. Happy baking everyone!
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook time
8 - 10 minutes
Yield
20 pieces
Ingredients
50 g (2oz) butter
50 g (2oz) demerara / brown sugar
50 g (2oz) golden or corn syrup
50 g (2oz) plain All Purpose flour
4 red and green or natural glacé cherries finely chopped
50 g (2oz) finely chopped candied peel or raisins
50 g (2oz) finely chopped mixed almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, peanuts. (You can choose your favourites!)
175 g (6oz) plain, milk or white chocolate or a variety of all three!
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (375°F). Line a baking tray with parchment paper. (If you don't, the florentines will be very difficult to remove)
2. Put the butter and syrup into a pan. Heat until the butter melts, remove from the heat, then add all other ingredients apart from the chocolate. Mix everything well.
3. Place teaspoonfuls of the mixture on the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart then flatten with a back of a spoon.
4. Bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 2 - 3 minutes until they harden then using a palette knife, transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
Tip
If the Florentines become too hard to remove, put them back into the oven for a few moments to allow them to soften.
5. Now melt the chocolate in a basin over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water.
6. Spread a little melted chocolate over the flat base of each Florentine using a palette knife, and leave to set, chocolate side up, on the cooling rack.
Store in an airtight container.
What chocolate can I use?
It's quite common to make a variety of florentines, some with white, milk and dark chocolate, so you can do that instead of all one type of chocolate if you wish!
Recipe Card
These are a wonderful cookie type treat, with lots of delicious goodies in them, and coated on one side with white or dark or milk chocolate. Easy recipe!
Ingredients
- 50 g butter, 2oz
- 50 g demerara / brown sugar, 2oz
- 50 g golden or corn syrup, 2oz
- 50 g plain All Purpose flour, 2oz
- 4 red and green or natural glacé cherries finely chopped
- 50 g finely chopped candied peel or raisins, 2oz
- 50 g finely chopped mixed almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, peanuts. (You can choose your favourites!), 2oz
- 175 g plain, milk or white chocolate or a variety of all three!, 6oz
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (375°F). Line a baking tray with parchment paper. (If you don't, the florentines will be very difficult to remove)
- Put the butter and syrup into a pan. Heat until the butter melts, remove from the heat, then add all other ingredients apart from the chocolate. Mix everything well.
- Place teaspoonfuls of the mixture on the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart then flatten with a back of a spoon.
- Bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 2 - 3 minutes until they harden then using a palette knife, transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
*** If the Florentines become too hard to remove, put them back into the oven for a few moments to allow them to soften.
- Now melt the chocolate in a basin over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water.
- Spread a little melted chocolate over the flat base of each Florentine using a palette knife, and leave to set, chocolate-side up, on the cooling rack.
- Store in an airtight container.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 20Amount Per Serving: Calories: 102Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 42mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 0gSugar: 9gProtein: 2g
Delicious Sweet Snacks for Christmas
Here's a selection of delicious Sweet Snacks for Christmas and Thanksgiving
Cherry Crescent Roll Cheesecake Bars. A.K.A Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars. An incredibly quick, easy recipe with cream cheese and cherries sandwiched between layers of flaky buttery golden pastry. Popular cream cheese crescent roll dessert
Pecan Caramel Monkey Bread, Easy recipe for how to make it. Sticky caramel-coated pieces of bread with a sprinkling of chocolate chips & pecan nuts baked in a bundt pan. A great pull-apart bread recipe using store-bought biscuits.
Pecan and Raisin Oatmeal Cookies.
Soft and Chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside, these are the BEST EVER oatmeal cookies, loaded with pecan nuts and raisins. A simple classic cookie recipe
Easy Honey Baklava. Baklava is a Middle Eastern classic sweet treat, filled with a variety of nuts, honey, citrus, and spices, between layers of crunchy phyllo pastry. Ideal for serving at parties, or to have as a snack. An easy and simple recipe for the best baklava!
Honey Roasted Nuts, a delicious easy snack, perfect for parties and gifts too! Seasoned with honey and cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
Chewy White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies.
Soft and Chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside, these are the BEST EVER oatmeal cookies, loaded with white chocolate. A simple classic cookie recipe
Microwave Peanut Brittle. A super easy and fuss-free recipe. Perfect for the holidays and great for making ahead. Give as gifts or have all to yourself!
Easy Chocolate Truffles. Creamy, rich homemade chocolate truffles are easy to make and perfect for gifts.
Cappuccino Chocolate Truffles. Creamy, rich chocolate and coffee-flavored homemade truffles are easy to make and perfect for gifts.
Almond Pastries. A perfect treat to have with a cup of tea!
Orange Chocolate Truffles, luxuriously creamy and decadent, these are easy to make and perfect for gifts and parties!
Mini Homemade Pecan Pies. Delicious individual mini pies all made from scratch and super easy too
Amaretti Style Cranberry and Orange Almond Cookies. These amaretti-style biscuits use minimal flour and have a light airy finish, fit to accompany desserts and drinks light as a feather and fat-free too!
Double Chocolate and Orange Biscotti are lovely little Italian cookies perfect for having with a cup of coffee. Easy to make, and make perfect gifts too!
Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies. A lovely easy recipe and great for gift packages at Christmas!
German Star Cookies, also known as Zimtsterne Cinnamon Cookies are a wonderful cookie for Christmas. They're crisp, chewy and spiced with all things nice!
Pecan Raisin Cookies. Delicious easy cookies perfect with a glass of milk or cup of tea! Also great for gifts!
French Almond Palmier cookies or Elephant Ears are a delicious little cookie filled with almonds and perfect for the holidays! Quick and easy to make too!
Macadamia and White Chocolate Cookies. Perfect with a cup of tea or glass of milk! A very easy cookie recipe.
Coconut and Rum White Chocolate Truffles, luxuriously creamy and decadent, these are easy to make and perfect for gifts and parties!
Bacon Crack. A.K.A Bacon Saltine Cracker Candy.
Christmas Crack. If you've never tried this you're missing out! Really easy recipe and always a hit at home!
Irish Cream Chocolate Bark! A delicious chocolate treat loaded with cranberries, cookies and honey spiced nuts. Perfect for the holidays and great for gifts.
Cream Filled Brandy Snaps - A wonderful cookie type treat, oddly enough, with no brandy! One is never enough so be sure to make plenty!
Easy Chocolate Party Pretzels are a great snack made up of delicious crunchy salted pretzels and a variety of chocolate. Once you start eating these you can't stop!
These are a wonderful cookie type treat, with lots of delicious goodies in
them, and coated on one side with white or dark or milk chocolate. Easy recipe!
Salted Caramel Cashew Nut Popcorn.
A delicious combination of salt and caramel coating homemade popcorn. Easy recipe for popping corn
White Chocolate Peanut Clusters! These little chocolate bites are quick and easy to make. You can also add raisins, your favorite nuts, cranberries, whatever you like! You choose!
Chocolate Pecan Cookies are filled with pecans and chocolate, crispy on the outside and chewy inside, easy cookie recipe and perfect with a glass of milk or cup of tea! Also great for gifts!
Nanny's Chocolate Nut Fudge. A tried and true family recipe and great for gifts! Use a cookie cutter to make pretty shapes too!
Homemade Lemon Mints are just like the famous Altoid mints, and have a curiously strong flavor. Easy and fun to make little candies!
Homemade Cinnamon Mints are just like the famous Altoid mints, and have a curiously strong flavor. Easy and fun to make little candies!