Florentine Cookies

Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 60 min
Servings: 18
Yield: 18 servings

Description

Florentine cookies, also known as lace cookies, are golden, crispy cookies made with almonds and honey. Sandwich with chocolate for the perfect holiday gift!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole raw almonds
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner (such as Silpat®).
2 Place almonds into the bowl of a food processor; alternate pulsing and running at full speed every few seconds until finely chopped and crumblike. Be careful not to go too far; you don't want them too fine and pasty. You can chop the almonds by hand if you prefer but it will take a lot longer.
3 Combine butter, brown sugar, and honey in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir a few times and cook until melted and dissolved. Bring to a boil, then carefully remove from the heat.
4 Add vanilla extract, salt, and flour, and whisk until smooth. Add chopped almonds and mix with a spatula until everything is combined.
5 Drop eight uniformly sized, rounded spoonfuls of batter (each about 2 teaspoons, or 15 grams) onto the prepared sheet. Fine-tune the cookie shapes and make sure they are evenly spaced.
6 Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake until golden brown and a bit darker around the outsides, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
7 Remove from the oven and slide the silicone liner off the baking sheet and directly onto the countertop. Allow to sit until cool and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes, then gently peel cookies off the liner. Repeat to bake remaining batches.
8 Spread melted chocolate over the flat side of one cookie. Place a second cookie, flat-side down, on top to make a sandwich and press very gently to seal. Repeat to form remaining cookies. Let sit until chocolate has firmed up, about 30 minutes.