Florentines

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons butter
• 1/4 cup superfine sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/3 cup almonds, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped mixed peel
• 1/4 cup raisins, chopped
• 2 tablespoons candied cherries, chopped
• 1/2 finely grated lemon, rind of
• 4 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted

Recipe

• 1 line 2 large cookie sheets with baking parchment.
• 2 heat the butter and superfine sugar in a small saucepan until the butter has just melted and the sugar dissolved.
• 3 remove the pan from the heat.
• 4 stir in the flour and mix well.
• 5 stir in the chopped almonds, mixed peel, raisins, cherries, and lemon peel.
• 6 place teaspoonfuls of the mixture well apart on the cookie sheets.
• 7 bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
• 8 as soon as the florentines are removed from the oven, press the edges into neat shapes while still on the cooking sheet, using a round cookie cutter.
• 9 leave to cool on the cookie skeets until firm, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• 10 spread the melted chocolate over the smooth side of each florentine.
• 11 as the chocolate begins to set, mark wavy lines in it with a fork.
• 12 leave the florentines until set, chocolate side up.
• 13 variation: replace the semisweet chocolate with chocolate.
• 14 for a dramatic effect, cover half of the florentines in dark chocolate and half in chocolate.