Florentines-Dolce alla Fiorentino

Ingredients

• 1 cup sliced unblanched almonds
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons clover or orange blossom honey
• 1 cup sifted powder sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose or unbleached white flour
• 1/3 cup very thinly diced, candied orange peel
• Very finely grated zest of 2 medium oranges
• Chocolate Glaze:
• 1/2 teaspoon solid vegetable shortening
• 3 1/2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Line several baking sheets with aluminum foil cut to fit. Generously grease the foil. Coarsely chop 1/2 cup of the almonds. Set remaining almonds aside for decoration.
Combine butter, milk, honey, and powdered sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring, over medium heat and continue to boil the mixture, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove saucepan from the heat. Sift flour over the boiled mixture, and stir ubtil smooth. Stir in chopped almonds, candied orange peel, and orange zest.
Drop batter by very small teaspoonfuls onto the foil, spacing about 3 inches apart. Don't crowd the cookies or make them too large, as they will spread a great deal. Generously sprinkle rounds with the reserved almonds.
Place in the upper third of the oven and bake 5 to 7 minutes, or until the wafers are rich golden brown, reversing baking sheets from front to back halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Check frequently, as the cookies bake very rapidly once they have begun to color, and make sure to remove as soon as they are thoroughly baked but not over cooked.(they will be chewy and difficult to remove from the foil if undercooked and taste slightly burned if overcooked).Remove baking sheets from the oven and let stand 1 minute. Then carefully transfer foil along with the cookies to a flat surface, and let stand until COMPLETELY COOLED. Carefully peel cookies from the foil. (if the florentines stick, either they are under- cooked or the foil was not greased heavily enough. The foil may be reused, if desired, but must be thoroughly regreased first, and baking sheets should be allowed to cool before reusing. Continue until all the cookies are baked, cooled, and removed from the foil. Place then smooth side up on waxed paper.
To prepare the glaze, combine the shortening and semisweet and unsweetened chocolates in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Warm, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is completely melted and smooth.
Using a blunt knife, spread an even layer of warm chocolate glaze over the smooth underside of each cookie. (Don't worry if a bit of the glaze oozes through the lacy holes to the top of the wafers.) Let the wafers stand a few minutes, then draw a pastry comb or the tines of a fork across the chocolate in a wavy pattern for decorative effect, if desired. Let the florentines stand, glaze side up, until the chocolate sets, about 45 minutes. (Speed up setting by placing the wafers in the refrigerator for a few minutes.)
Store the cookies, refrigerated, in air tight containers with sheets of waxed paper between the layers for up to a week. Florentines may be frozen and then thawed in the refrigator prior to serving, if desired.

Submitted 6/13/05.
Source: International Cookie Cook Book
Submitted By: Eileen Werth
crzylegs@erols.com
Florentines-Dolce alla Fiorentino