Countdown to Christmas: Florentine Cookies

When Amy first started working at her current teaching job, a group of women used to go, occasionally, on girls' outings. Each "girl" got her turn to plan the outing - one planned a trip to a pottery studio where we learned how to throw a cup; one planned a visit to a meditation center where we were encouraged to talk to our angels; Amy planned a holiday cookie class at a nearby kitchen store.

One of the cookie recipes at said class was for crisp, sugary Florentines. And it was around that time that we (Chris and Amy, that is) started dating, and we used to make those cookies quite often in Chris's little third-floor-apartment-kitchen. Sometimes we made them for a specific occasion; sometimes we made them just because we craved them (yes, they were that good). Sadly, somewhere along the way we lost the recipe. And none of the "girls" have been able to produce it in the last 10 (okay, maybe 12) years. We have (barely) accepted the loss. We have searched far and wide for that recipe, and we have never found anything that was quite right.

Then Chow published their "Crazy-Easy Christmas Cookies" article, and it included what seemed to be a very similar recipe for Florentine Cookies. Our hopes were raised. We knew it wasn't the same, but could it be, (could it? could it be?) just as good???  The suspense was killing us, so we made them on Tuesday night. And no, they are not the same. And no, they are not as good. But it could be that the memory of those particular cookies is not, in fact, reality. Maybe losing that recipe brought on some sort of romantic nostalgia for younger, easier days. Maybe that recipe is just a symbol of time, and friends, gone by. Maybe we weren't meant to have those cookies in our lives anymore.

Still, these Florentines are the closest we've come and we are enjoying every bite. And speaking of bites, this recipe doesn't make a whole lot of cookies (it says 36; we managed about 24), so be prepared and double up! And if you happened to take a holiday cookie class at Kitchens, Etc in West Hartford in the late 90's and you think you have the recipe of which we speak, please PLEASE PLEASE email us!!!

Almonds, orange zest and flour - ready to go

Sugar, butter, salt, corn syrup and cream get heated up

Pour wet mixture into the dry

Lay out on parchment-lined baking sheets

with plenty of room for them to spread out

Note: we have lots of chocolate in our other Christmas treats, so we chose not to drizzle these with chocolate and left that part out of the recipe below.

Chow's Florentine Cookies

Recipe from Chow, but pictures here were taken by us.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sliced almonds (we used slivered)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (used a little more than that)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into 4 pieces

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange 2 racks to divide the oven into thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

Place the almonds, flour, and zest in a medium bowl and toss with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to combine; set aside.

Place the sugar, butter, corn syrup, cream, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the almond mixture, and stir to combine.

Drop heaping teaspoons of the batter at least 3 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets, 6 per sheet. Using a rubber spatula, pat the batter out into 2-inch-wide circles, spreading the almonds into an even single layer.

Place both sheets in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom and bake until the florentines are light golden brown around the edges, about 4 to 5 minutes more.

Remove from the oven to wire racks and let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes. Carefully remove the florentines from the baking sheets with a thin metal spatula, transfer to the wire racks, and cool completely. Repeat with the remaining batter—you can reuse the baking sheets and parchment while still warm. Reserve the parchment sheets for drizzling the chocolate over the cooled cookies, if using.

Place the cooled cookies on the reserved parchment sheets. Store the florentines in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Countdown to Christmas: Rosemary Almond Butter Toffee

Severe abdominal pain caused Amy to go to the doctor on Friday morning and that seemingly quick doctor's visit turned into a 9-hour event complete with lab tests, cat scans and all kinds of nonsense in the E.R. They "think" it's some sort of intestinal infection, but all she could think was, "I don't have time for this! When is our Christmas baking going to get done?!?"

Saturday morning, after an anti-inflammatory injection and a couple of prescriptions began to work their magic, we got to some light work in the kitchen. We're not even half way done, but it was a good start. And while that annoying abdominal pain isn't quite gone, Amy is starting to feel a little better. Kitchen therapy. Works every time.

Anyway... We knew we wanted to do a toffee to include in our friends-and-neighbors Christmas treat boxes. Who doesn't love the crunchy sweetness of a good toffee? And Amy loves to mix salty and sweet, so we knew it would be a nut toffee. But it wasn't until she spied Rosemary Marcona Almonds during a recent visit to Trader Joe's that this particular recipe was born. That rosemary really gives this toffee a uniquely delicious hint of herbacious fabulousness. And it looks cool, too. So very Christmas-y! Enjoy!

Heat butter, salt, sugar, and corn syrup to 300 degrees

Sprinkle chopped almonds over wax paper-lined baking sheet

Pour toffee over chopped nuts

Top with chopped Trader Joe's Roasted and Salted Marcona Almonds with Rosemary

Rosemary Almond Butter Toffee

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup white sugar

6 tablespoons dark corn syrup

1/2 cup chopped plain roasted, salted almonds

1/2 cup chopped Trader Joe's Roasted and Salted Marcona Almonds with Rosemary

Melt butter over low heat. Add the salt, sugar and corn syrup and stir until sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil until mixture becomes foamy and reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. In the meantime, line a baking sheet with wax paper and sprinkle the plain chopped almonds all over it. Pour the caramel over the nuts on the baking sheet, spreading with a spatula to cover. Sprinkle the chopped rosemary marcona almonds over the toffee mixture. Chill in refrigerator (or outside if it's cold enough!) until hardened, about one hour. Peel wax paper away and break into pieces.  Store in an air-tight container until ready to serve/share/eat.