Almond Florentines

Recipe Ingredients

• Almonds: The base of a traditional florentine cookie recipe. As we'll need small pieces, sliced almonds are the easiest form to break down in the food processor.
• Orange Zest: A small amount to add a hint of complementary flavor. This is optional.
• Sugar, Cream, & Butter: These combine to form the toffee portion of the cookie.
• Honey: Amplifies the toffee sweetness and provides extra flavor.
• Vanilla Extract: Add this off of the heat so the flavor doesn't boil off.
• Chocolate: Use your favorite kind, though I'm partial to dark chocolate.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Dry ingredients. Pulse the almonds in the food processor until they're in small bits, then add to a mixing bowl with the flour, orange zest, salt, and cinnamon.
2. Wet ingredients. Add sugar, butter, cream, and honey to a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil for 1 minute. It will bubble up and become frothy, so use an appropriately-sized pan. Stir in the vanilla once off the heat.

3. Combine. Pour the toffee mixture in the bowl over the dry ingredients and stir until evenly combined. Be careful as the mixture will be hot! Let it cool down enough to safely handle, which can take several minutes or a smidge longer.
4. Form Balls. Scoop using a level teaspoon or a mini cookie scoop. Place them at least 2-3 inches apart from one another on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

5. Bake. Bake at 300°F for 20-25 minutes, or until deep golden brown in color but not burnt. It's completely normal (and expected) for them to be totally flat with small holes. This is why they're sometimes called "Italian lace cookies".
6. Shape. Quickly nudge any angles or uneven edges into a circular shape with the back of a spoon before they harden.

7. Melt chocolate. Once the florentines have cooled completely, melt chocolate in the microwave or on the stovetop in a double boiler.
8. Coat or drizzle. Either drizzle chocolate over top (snipping a corner off of a plastic bag is the easiest way) or spread it along the smooth side. Stick another florentine cookie onto the melted chocolate to create a sandwich.

Tips for Perfect Florentine Cookies

• Mix dough in a microwave-safe bowl. Rolling balls can be a delicate dance. The dough needs to cool down enough to safely handle with your hands, but it will crumble if it becomes too cool. Using a microwave-safe bowl means you can pop it in the microwave for short bursts (15 seconds or so) until it becomes warmed and manageable again.
• Equal scoops. Scooping with a teaspoon measuring spoon and leveling it off ensures the most uniform cookies. Sometimes you can find a mini cookie scoop with a swinging arm, which scoops roughly one teaspoon of dough, to make this process more efficient.
• Cut parchment down to size. Ensure the parchment paper lies flat against the pan and doesn't hang over the edges. Florentines are so light and thin they'll follow the shape of a sloped surface.
• Know your pans. Dark metal baking sheets absorb and emit heat more efficiently than lighter metal sheets, meaning they can more quickly brown the bottoms of cookies. Since florentines are so thin, batches baked on darker metal pans may have a quicker bake time.
• Rotate pans, if needed. Flip your pans from front to back if you know your oven has hot spots to ensure even caramelization.
• Don't underbake. Underbaked florentines will be sticky and won't achieve a satisfying crispness. If you find after they've cooled that some of your florentines haven't crisped up enough, simply place them back in the oven and bake a bit longer.
• Reshape quickly. Even after rolling precise cookie dough balls it's normal for florentines to not bake perfectly circular. You have a 15-ish second window right as they come out of the oven to nudge them with the back of a spoon into a more round shape.