Florintine Cookies

Everything you need to make Florintiner, J. Stahl

Today, Id like to share what you need to make Florintine cookies. I'd been purchasing these every time I go to Starbucks, and decided it was time to figure out how the heck to make my own because the ones we get are smaller than this and cost around 2,50€ a pop.  The only thing missing from this photo is the cream that is required to make this.

The first thing you will need, that is probably not normally found in the store is the paper wafers. If you are in Germany, you can find them at Glutenfrei-Supermarkt or Querfood. You may also be able to find them at a Reformhaus, Drogerie Markt or Tegut/Alnatura. These wafers are about 2 inches across and come 75 to a packet. Really, they are not that large.

Wafer paper, J.Stahl

What you will do is place these at the bottom of your cupcake mold/paper and then line them with a few chocolate drops if you want this to simulate the Starbucks Florintiner. If you do not, you will be placing the pastry right on top, and this will make it easier for it to lift out of the cupcake liner.

When they are done, this is what it will look like on the bottom:

Wafer paper and Florintine, J. Stahl

 

Today's recipe is coming to you by way of Marion's Kochbuch. I did not religiously follow the recipe, but my Florintines did come out absolutely awesome. I have only half a batch left, so I will make another batch using raisins instead of the candied fruit mix. This will have the recipe mimic Starbucks a bit better.

I chose the cupcake forms so that the cookies would not spread, and to also mimic Starbucks. I wanted something simple and not too messy for the children, to be perfectly honest.



 You will need the following for this recipe:

• 25 grams of melted butter
• 100 grams sugar
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp vanilla)
• 125 grams cream
• 100 grams candied fruit or raisins
• 100 grams almond slices
• 75 grams chocolate for the bottom of the form or melted chocolate to drizzle after baking
• 12 wafer papers

Measure everything out for ease of production. I found that using an ice-cream scoop made things easier for my hands when dipping these out into the cupcake forms. Pre-heat your oven to 200°C/400°F. You will be baking these in the oven for around 10-12 minutes.

To begin, take a small pot and melt your butter on low heat. Add in the vanilla and sugar. Keep stirring until the sugar is well incorporated and it begins to brown. Add in your cream and continue mixing until the liquid begins to resemble honey. Allow to boil on low heat while stirring. When it does resemble honey, remove this from heat and add in your nuts and candied fruit. Mix well and dip out into the form. Once you are happy with how these look in the form, place them on the middle rack in the  oven and bake for around 12 minutes, or until they have lightly browned on the top.

If you like, you can cover these with melted chocolate. Alternatively, you can make these without wafer paper (Starbucks does not use any for theirs) and bake these either on baking paper or in mini muffin forms. Just be sure to line with pastry paper cups (also called "mini cupcake liners") as this is extremely sticky and will NOT come out of your muffin tin otherwise.

As an interesting note, Florintines are actually not from Florence. You might find this blog post interesting:

It is much more likely that today’s Florentine biscuits come from France, the country whose patisserie shops are known for the best cream and butter-filled delights on the planet, from flaky croissants, chocolate éclairs to heart-shaped palmiers. Not only are the main ingredients typically French but the fact that the base for Florentine biscuits is essentially a roux, an oh-so-French cooking technique, should also signal the true origins of this delicate tea-time cookie.
The Truth about Florintines