Ever since I had florentines in a random cookie tin, I remember the deliciousness of them. I was reminded again after not having it in a while when Norma brought them from the office she worked at and it was on my mind since then. I actually made these a while back but didn’t write about it until now. I took this recipe from Giada on the Food Network and it’s amazingly difficult for the amount it produces. I can’t imagine making these again unless it’s a special occasion but they are oh so damn good.
- Title: Sweet Sweet Florentines
- Uploaded By: cLin
- Upload Date: 21th March, 2010
Ingredients:
- 2 cups sliced almonds, chopped
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into pieces
- 1/3 cup whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the almonds, flour and zest in a medium bowl. Stir the sugar, butter, cream, and honey in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the almond mixture. Cool the batter for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using 2 teaspoons 1 teaspoon of batter for each cookie, spoon 8 6 mounds of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly apart (the cookies will spread). Flatten the batter slightly with your finger.
Bake the cookies until they are lacy and golden brown, about 10 minutes. 7 minutes. Gently slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto a rack and cool completely. Transfer the cookies to paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter, lining the baking sheets with clean parchment for each batch. (The cookies can be made up to this point 2 months ahead. Cool completely, then store airtight in the freezer. Defrost before continuing.)
Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Spread the melted chocolate over the bottom of 1 cookie. Top with a second cookie, bottom side down, pressing lightly to adhere. Repeat with the remaining cookies and chocolate.
Note: I changed some parts of the recipe according to reviews and my personal experience. The timing is crucial, 30 seconds later or earlier and it’ll be burnt or undercooked. Also make sure you use one teaspoon instead of 2 teaspoon for the cookie size. It won’t be cooked if you use that much and all the cookies will mold into one big cookie. I opted out of getting orange zest cause…well, I didn’t have any and I could care less for the orange flavor. And last but not least, try to use wax/parchment paper or Silpat for the baking sheet. I made the mistake of not using either and I regretted it (first batch would not get off of the baking sheet, I had to toss it).
Usually, I’m not a big fan of marshmallows but Norma is and I’ve always been interested in how these are made. I was just going to make marshmallows but I noticed I had extra semi-sweet chocolate chips and graham crackers. The following recipe was taken from Barefoot Contessa’s Toasted Coconut Marshmallows but I just ignored the coconut part. I found cutting the marshmallow with a wet knife or something that doesn’t stick makes it go by so much quicker.
- Title: Closeup of S’more
- Uploaded By: cLin
- Upload Date: 21th March, 2010
Ingredients:
- 3 packages unflavored gelatin
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Directions
Sprinkle confectioner’s sugar in an 8 by 12-inch nonmetal pan.
Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the marshmallow batter and smooth the top of the mixture with damp hands. Sprinkle some more confectioner’s sugar on top. Let it cool for about an hour or until the marshmallow is firm.
Remove the marshmallows from the pan and cut into squares. Roll the sides of each piece carefully in confectioners’ sugar. Store uncovered at room temperature.