Florentine Cookies

This is by far the most popular and most requested cookie recipe, and I make a lot of different kinds of cookies. These fancy looking cookies are surprisingly easy, and I’m here to spill all the beans! Enjoy them with your morning coffee or as the sweetest finale to any meal.

Everything in this recipe gets cooked or baked twice. In a way, this should be called a biscuit… So the first stage of cooking should be taken very lightly, as you can see in these sliced almonds. You barely see any color on them after 7-8 minutes of baking, which is what you want.

Next, we’re going to make the cookie base by mixing everything in the food processor. You can do this in a stand mixer or even by hand, but the food processor is the fastest way, as you only need to pulse about 10 times for 2 seconds each. 

Once the dough comes together to a ball, spread it out on a parchment lined baking pan. This is such a delicate dough that, instead of using a rolling pin, I find it easier to flatten it first by hand and then keep pressing it using something flat like the bottom of a glass like. You can, of course, use a rolling pin, if you are comfortable with that. The thickness of the dough should be about a quarter to a third of an inch. Once it’s nice and even, prick or dock the dough all over with a fork. It is now ready for the first bake in the oven – just with the almonds, we are not trying to bake this all the way through at this stage, so pull it out when the edges are just starting to brown.

While it’s baking, let’s make the actual florentine part of this cookie by melting the butter, sugar, and honey in a pan over medium low heat. Once the sugar is completely dissolved and it’s starting to bubble up around the edges, stir in the heavy cream and turn the heat to low. Keep stirring until it thickens slightly. Again with everything else in this recipe, we are not trying to get much color at this point. Finally, mix in the sliced almonds and turn off the heat. 

By this time, the cookie dough should be ready to come out of the oven and be ready to be covered by the caramel topping. We are finally putting this whole thing back in the oven for one last time for 20 to 25 minutes until the caramel topping turns dark brown. Keep checking every few minutes, especially after the 20 minute mark, as it can burn very quickly. 

Now, it’s the hardest part – the waiting! Let it cool in the pan until the caramel is set but still slightly warm to the touch. If you wait for it to cool completely, it may be more difficult to cut into smaller pieces. I like to cut a thin sliver off of each of the 4 sides before cutting them into any shape you want. I typically do squares or rectangles, but I was feeling like triangles on this day!

Sipping Suggestions: Coffee, Tea, Brandy, Whiskey. Or You do YOU!