Florentine Cookies for the GBBO Bake-Along
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Mmmmm it’s BISCUIT Week for the Great British Baking Show! And this week we’re tackling Florentine Cookies. And you’re going to love them!
What are Florentine Cookies?
Crispy, lacey, delicate, florentine cookies taste best with their backs dipped in chocolate. They may seem a fussy sort of cookie to make but their flavor is OH so classic and worth the effort. They’re kind of like a fruity flat Brandy Snap!
Traditionally Florentine Cookies are made with candied fruits and peel. But in Biscuit Week 2020 the Signature Bake had everyone making up their OWN flavor Combos, so I did too. This recipe uses dried cranberries, Craisins, and pecans. They will be on our Christmas Baking List this year!
The lacey look comes from not adding a lot of flour to make an actual dough. The butter and sugar/corn syrup/golden syrup make an almost caramelly crunch cookie. The should SNAP when you break them or bite them. And they should be lacey with peek-a-boo holes in them!
Florentine Cookies for Biscuit Week?
I know a lot of Americans get confused about this one but biscuits don’t mean buttermilk biscuits! Or Baking Powder Biscuits. Or ANY biscuity type thing. Biscuits in the UK means COOKIES!
COOKIE WEEK, I can Get behind that.
Are Florentine Cookies EASY to Make?
They are NOT hard to make. You can whip up a batch in less than 10 minutes. The hardest part being the chopping of the fruit. My food processor died so I did them all by hand. NOT HARD just a little time-consuming.
So how many batches of florentines did I make before I got it right? Probably 5. I think it’s just a matter of timing and knowing that they’re done enough and not burnt.
I had two kinds of pans in the oven on both racks. Interestingly the pan that was darker brown baked quicker. BUT the silver pans tasted like they were baked better.
I set my timer for the MINIMUM time of 8 minutes and then checked it pretty obsessively every 30 seconds or so after that. They really can go from done to burnt in 30 seconds so be on the lookout for that.
Florentine Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 Tablespoons of butter
- 3 1/3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
- 1/3 cup plus a Tablespoon of dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup pecans halves
- 3/8 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of chocolate chips OR good melting chocolate
Instructions
- pre-heat the oven to 350˚
- line three large baking trays with parchment paper
- put the butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar in a saucepan set aside
- chop the pecans and cranberries together, you want them fine but not absolutely ground up, if you use a food processor just pulse the mixture
- warm the butter mixture in the saucepan JUST until the butter melts
- remove from the heat
- stir in the flour
- stir in the nuts
- drop by teaspoon fulls on the baking sheets, making 18 roughly equal cookies
- bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, set the timer for 8 then when it goes off check back every 30 seconds or so until the cookies are golden brown
- remove the sheets from the oven, let them cool slightly, and then use a spatula to peel them off the parchment
- cool completely on baking racks, they should be snappy and crispy when cooled, if not they can be baked for a little longer in the oven
- once cooled melt the chocolate in a double boiler over medium-low heat
- use a spoon to coat the backs of the cookies, lay chocolate side up to cool
- once they are halfway cooled use a fork to make a wavy line design across the back of the cookie, let them finish cooling
Nutrition
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Hi! Could I use honey or agave (or maybe maple syrup?) instead of the corn syrup? I have all the other things in my pantry already so could give it a try today if so *fingers crossed*
Ohhh that’s a good question! I think you could try agave! Maybe honey too?? I’m not 100% sure but why no give it a shot??
Following… how it they turn out with agave and honey?