Food - Drink

The Light And Crispy French Cookies Inspired By Gold Coins

By NATASHA BAILEY

Everyone has their favorite cookie, and for the children of Europe, their favorite might very well be the Florentine, a thin and crispy cookie often served alongside coffee with a toffee texture and nutty sweet flavor. While it’d be logical to assume Florentines originate from Florence, Italy — thus, their name — their origins lie somewhere else entirely.

While the exact story of the cookie's creation is lost to history, it’s believed that Florentines were invented in France and were named after Florence's gold coins, which were used as currency throughout Europe for nearly 500 years. They have lived on in European homes as a favorite holiday treat made with nuts, sugar, honey, candied fruit, butter, and chocolate.

Florentine is made by making a nut base of almonds or hazelnuts, plus candied fruit of your choice (like cherries and oranges), melted butter, and heavy cream, all of which become a kind of candy when mixed together. Then, depending on your preference, you can drizzle or coat it with chocolate to finish them off.

To bake the perfect batch of Florentines, make sure to space them out on the baking sheet since they spread out in the oven. Also, consider blanched almonds so that the lace of the dessert is fine and delicate, and don’t forget to add the chocolate after baking, which pairs perfectly with the fruit and nuts in the base.

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