Fennel and Cardamom-Scented Florentines
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Author Notes: I first developed the recipe for these, sans chocolate, to garnish Merrill’s memorably decadent Chocolate Mousse with Cointreau and Chocolate Shards. I used candied orange peel to mirror the liqueur in the mousse, but you could easily use lemon peel instead, changing the spices (or not) as you like. Or, consider painting some with white chocolate for variety, while leaving a few plain for people who don’t care for chocolate. If I were to go the white chocolate route for the whole batch, I could easily see using ginger instead of fennel, substituting dried cherries for the candied orange peel, and adding a touch of lime zest both to the cookies and to the chocolate. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Enjoy!! ;o) - AntoniaJames
Makes 20 - 24
- 2 heaping tablespoons candied orange peel
- ½ heaping teaspoon fennel seeds
- ¼ heaping teaspoon cardamom seeds
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt (but only if the butter is unsalted)
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon yellow raisins, firmly packed
- 6 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate chunks (or a combination)
- Zest of an orange
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Coarsely chop the candied orange peel.
- Lightly crush the fennel and cardamom seeds together in an electric spice grinder by pulsing 5 or 6 times. Add half of the almond slices and grind for a few seconds. The almonds should be finely broken. Add the rest of the almond slices and quickly pulse 2 or 3 times to break them up a bit. You want there to be a few larger pieces.
- Heat the sugars, butter, salt and cream in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Let it boil, continuing to stir frequently, for about five minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add the vanilla (taking care, as it may spit), the raisins and chopped candied orange peel, and the chopped almonds and spices. Stir well, quickly, to combine.
- Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving at least 3 inches between them, as they will spread. Work quickly to form all of the cookies, as the dough will get somewhat hard and crumbly as it cools. (You can also make smaller ones by dropping less dough per cookie.)
- Bake one pan at a time, on a shelf placed in the center of the oven, for about 8 minutes. The edges should be just a bit brown. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for at least 3 minutes before removing very gently with a thin spatula to a wire rack. Let them cool completely. They’ll be quite delicate.
- While the Florentines are cooling, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or over very low heat. Stir in the orange zest.
- Spread the chocolate on the flat side of each cookie. If you’ve made small cookies, you can also make little sandwiches by spreading a larger amount of chocolate between two, placing their flat sides together.
- Enjoy!! ;o)
- The basic Florentine recipe, which I prefer because it does not have flour in it and thus is quite delicate, is that of Lillian Langseth-Christensen, which I copied from “Gourmet” in the early 1980’s. I did a quick search and found the recipe online, adapted for epicurious.com: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Miniature-Florentines-105935
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Chocolate & Spice
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about 1 year ago jacksonholefoodie
I am going to make these this weekend for an upcoming backcountry yurt ski trip. We will need some high energy snacks, and I am a sucker for all things fennel/chocolate/orange. Thank you!
about 1 year ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
You're welcome! Be sure to put a piece of plastic wrap or parchment between each cookie when packing them up, as they do tend to stick together. I'd definitely do the sandwich cookie for this purpose. Incidentally, I've been meaning to make an energy bar with this combination, for fuel while backpacking in the Sierras (which we've been able to do all winter this year -- latest trip was up to Sykes Falls on the Big Sur, and back, in two days). ;o)
over 1 year ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Thanks so much, susan g! Cardamom + Fennel Seeds + Orange (or lemon, for that matter) = Amazing! ;o)
over 1 year ago susan g
Sounds amazing, and too good to miss!