I first made these Italian cookies for Christmas a couple of years ago and it was Love at first bite. Since then, they have become a “several times a year, kinda thing” at our house and they dissapear faster than any other cookie I make. They are nutty and crispy with a hint of orange, 2 cookies held together with a generous layer of chocolate. Orange and chocolate, does it get any better than that?
Almonds
Danish Christmas Tradition: St. Lucia (Saint Lucy’s Day)
St. Lucia is believed to be a saint who suffered a martyr’s death around AD 310. The tradition of celebrating St. Lucia was imported from Sweden during WWII as a passive protest against the German occupation. St. Lucia is celebrated on December 13th and it is seen as a procession lead by one girl wearing a crown of candles on her head followed by other girls who hold a single candle in their hands. All the girls are dressed in white and they sing “Sankta Lucia” while walking slowly and carefully. The St. Lucia procession is performed in schools, hospitals and nursing homes where they bring great joy and excitement.
Bring to a rolling boil
Florentine Cookies (makes 28 small sandwiched cookies)
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups sliced blanched almonds (200 gram or 7 oz)
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
zest of 1 orange (about 2 tbsp)
1/4 tsp fine salt
3/4 cup sugar (155 gram or 5.4 oz)
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp light corn syrup
5 tbsp unsalted butter (70 gram or 2.5 oz)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 oz semisweet chocolate (170 gram)
Directions:
Position a rack in the center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped, but not pasty. Stir together the almonds, 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 vanilla, then pour mixture into almond mixture and stir just until combined. 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 sheets, leaving 3 to 4 inches between each cookie since they spread.
Bake 1 pan at a time, until the cookies are thin and even golden brown color, rotating pan halfway through baking time, about 8 to 11 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.
Chop semisweet chocolate and place in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch water to a simmer and set bowl filled with chocolate over the saucepan, making sure bowl is not touching water. Stir chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth.
Drop a generous amount of melted chocolate (1/2 to 1 teaspoon) onto the flat side of a cookie and press together with a second cookie to form a sandwich. Return to rack and let chocolate set completely.
Glædelig Jul and Merry Christmas♥
Florentine Cookies
Source: Food Network Kitchen
My Danish Kitchen 
Hi Gitte – how do you store these if they’re to be made ahead of time (say 4 days or so).
Tusind tak,
Helle
Hi Helle, I store the Florentine cookies in a cookie tin with a tight fitting lid. Also, separate each cookie layer with parchment paper. Merry Christmas 🙂
[…] creations on her site and it took me a long time to decide what to prepare. I landed on these Florentine Cookies since they reminded me of a favorite bakery treat of yesteryear: crispy lace cookies with a thin […]
My grandmother used to make these. I LOVED them. Thank you. A must try.
I’m adding these to my lsit of “gotta make” — I love the idea of chocolate and orange. (It’s one of my favorite pies; I cooked it on pblic TV once.) And I love the St. Lucia story; we used to celebrate it at the Catholic college I went to. And great pictures, too!
Amazing cookies! Would love to feature one of them in my 12 Cookies of Christmas contest: http://www.foodandwinechickie.com/2010/12/01/12-cookies-of-christmas-contest/
Cheers,
Veronique
I luv the thinness of these cookies and enjoyed your including some history around it.
Lovely photography throughout your blog!
Wow, those cookies look amazing! Thanks for sharing your recipe and congrats on making the Top 9! :>)
Looks awesome, crunchy and delicious! Congrats on making top 9!
Ooh! These look delicious. Definitely something I am going to try over the holidays. Thanks for the recipe and the step-by-step!
I love Florentine cookies… They are so delicious. Your photo is beautiful too. Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful recipe. I haven’t had florentines in forever and I’ve never made them. I will have to try this out.
they look wonderful! great post 🙂
This is my favorite cookie to buy. Now I can make them at home!! Thank you for the recipe. ive added this to my to do list.
Congratulations for making the top nine list. These cookies are picture perfect!
We still have three days to enter our site’s birthday give away for a KitchenAid mixer. Come on over to EverydaySouthwest.com and join the party!
My Florentine cookies made FoodBuzz Top 9? Wow Fantastic! what a nice message to wake up to 🙂
I love florentine cookies. They look wonderful.
This is something I have never tried but want to. Your look awesome!
Oh man Gitte, these look so good! Crispy and light yet rich and delicious. I can see why they go so fast!
Oh Gitte, I agree chocolate and orange cannot go wrong. And I don’t blame you for making these cookies not just during the holidays. Sounds so delicious.
Is this a duplic? I love these cookies and I love the photo. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving!
-Gina-
I love these cookies and the photo is so good! Wish I had one right now, I’m trying to get in the mood to start my holiday baking! Hope your Thanksgiving was good.
-Gina-
I can’t wait to try these!
These cookies are so interesting and amazing! I haven’t tried something like this before. So lovely recipe! It also sounds fun to cook 🙂