It wouldn’t be Christmas without Florentine cookies in my household.
If you hate dried fruit or chocolate, then they are not for you! But if you love the richness of chocolate with the chewiness of dried fruit (think dried cherries, apricots, and/or raisins), then you’ll love these. Use your favorite chocolate chips (not coating wafers).
They aren’t hard to make at all, but they do require patience and counter space. After all, the chocolate has to set before you can store them. I pack them in layers with wax paper in between each layer of cookies. Be sure to refrigerate them!
This recipe makes approximately 45 cookies.
Cookie Ingredients
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2/3 cup flour
- 1 cup ground pecans
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup dried cherries (chopped a bit)
- 1 cup diced dried apricots
Baking Directions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place butter, sugar and corn syrup in a pot. Melt the butter and stir until smooth and the sugar is melted. Remove from heat and add the flour and ground pecans. When well mixed, add the almonds, cherries, and apricots. Stir to combine. It will be very thick.
- Make the cookies large or small, whatever you prefer. Scoop a teaspoon or tablespoon of the dough in your hand and shape into a ball. Press flat and place on the parchment paper. They will spread a bit. Bake for 11 minutes. Have the next tray ready to put into the oven. You can reuse the parchment paper when it is cool.
- When baked, allow to cool briefly, then move to a rack to cool. Do not throw away the parchment paper!
Chocolate Coating
- 1 1/2 cup high quality semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips or chunks chopped into bits
- 4 1/5 tbsp butter
- 3/4 tsp vanilla
Directions
- Leave the parchment paper on the baking sheets. Turn all the cookies upside down on the parchment paper.
- Melt the chocolate with the butter (I use the microwave on short bursts) and stir in the vanilla. Use a teaspoon to dab the chocolate on and spread with the back of the spoon. Chocoholics may wish to apply a second coat of chocolate. Allow to dry.
- If they’re not quite dry but you can’t stand having them on the counter anymore, stack with wax paper between them. However the chocolate must be almost solid to do this.
Includes A Front and Back Cover for You to Color!
Download the PDF and start coloring today.
Includes A Front And Back Cover For You To Color!
Life is looking rosy for Florrie Fox, manager of the Color Me Read bookstore in Georgetown, Washington D.C. She’s working on an adult coloring book of gardens, her romance with Sergeant Eric Jonquille has entered a new chapter, and the bookstore’s weekly coloring club is a source of friendship and entertainment. No member is more vibrant than Dolly Cavanaugh. Dolly likes to say she was blessed with beauty and cursed with lousy husbands, but at least she has a grown daughter and a stunning brownstone to show for it!
When Dolly’s love of garage sales results in her showing up at Color Me Read with a rare book in hand, Florrie is astounded. The Florist, the earliest known coloring book, was first published in 1760. An original copy would be worth a fortune—and someone else knows it. That same evening, Florrie finds Dolly dead on the floor of her apartment, a corner of a coloring book page clutched in her hand. As Florrie delves into Dolly’s past and her personal effects, she discovers a skeleton in the closet—literally—and a whole lot of shady suspects. One of them is an expert in the fine art of murder, but can Florrie draw the right conclusion?
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