Chocolate Florentine Cookie Recipe: Tips for Making Florentines
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Feb 12, 2023 • 2 min read
Crispy, chewy Florentine cookies are a Christmas-time favorite in Italy. Learn how to perfect the technique behind this flavorful cookie.
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What Are Florentine Cookies?
Florentine cookies are an Italian biscuit-style dessert made from chopped nuts, sugar, butter, and candied fruit. Also known as Florentine lace cookies, the Italian dessert has a sticky, toffee sweetness and crisp, delicate texture. Bakers often coat the flat side of the cookie in a layer of melted chocolate.
Candied glacé cherries are the most common fruit for the recipe, but you can also use candied orange peel, dried cranberries, or fresh orange zest. Traditionally, Florentines are a gluten-free dessert, though some recipes may include a few tablespoons of all-purpose flour as a binding ingredient.
3 Tips for Making Florentine Cookies
You can serve florentines with coffee, espresso, or tea, or tuck them into a box of assorted holiday cookies. Here’s how to refine your technique:
- 1. Choosing the right almonds: For a more delicate, crumbly texture, use blanched almonds (peeled almonds). For a Florentine biscuit with more crunch, use sliced or slivered almonds.
- 2. Incorporating chocolate: Chocolate Florentine cookies balance the nutty notes of almond and floral aroma of citrus with a layer of bittersweet chocolate drizzled over the top, spread onto the flat side, or sandwiched between two cookies. Use chocolate chips or a high-quality baking bar of white chocolate, semisweet chocolate, or dark chocolate.
- 3. Storing the cookies: Store Florentines in an airtight container, separated by layers of parchment paper to prevent sticking.
Dark Chocolate Florentine Cookie Recipe
makes
12-15 cookiesprep time
5 mintotal time
15 mincook time
10 minIngredients
- 1
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Place the almonds in the bowl of a food processor. Process until crumbly and fine, then add the orange zest, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt and pulse to combine. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and set it aside.
- 3
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and heavy cream, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla and almond extracts. Mix to incorporate.
- 4
Add the butter-sugar mixture to the almond mixture, and mix well to combine.
- 5
Use a cookie scoop to dollop the batter onto prepared baking sheets a few inches apart, as they will spread. Bake the cookies until they are golden brown and crisp, rotating the pans as needed, around 10–12 minutes. Let the cookies cool slightly before transferring them to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter.
- 6
Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate, stirring it occasionally. (To use the stovetop to melt the chocolate, create a double boiler by placing a heat-proof mixing bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water.).
- 7
Let the chocolate cool, then transfer it to a piping bag or a freezer bag. Cut off a small portion of the freezer bag’s tip and pipe zig-zags across the cooled cookies. Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature before serving.
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