
The eighth recipe in this series of Family History Recipes comes from Monica. She chose to share with us a recovered family favorite cookie (or biscuit) recipe - “Florentines.”
Monica said that “[t]his is a biscuit – cookie – that is traditionally served at Christmas in England. My mam made one batch every year a few days before Christmas … [but] she didn’t write down the recipe. My sister figured it out and shared it with the family.”
These cookies include ingredients such as peel, glace cherries, and angelica, not flavors many of us had experienced before. New to Tasting History, Taste Tester Francis wasn’t quite sure about these cookies at first. After giving them a taste, though, he thought they were delicious! A wonderful treat that would work for any time of year.
Recipe: Florentines
This is a biscuit--cookie--that is traditionally served at Christmas in England. Despite the name there is no evidence that they come from Italy. They are probably named after the golden Florin coin. My mam made one batch every year a few days before Christmas and only the one batch. I’ve never made them successfully before because she didn’t write down the recipe. My sister figured it out and shared it with the family. – Monica
Ingredients:
- 3 oz butter
- 4 tbsp milk
- 4 oz icing sugar
- 1 ½ oz plain flour
- 3 oz mixed peel
- 2 oz finely chopped glace cherries and angelica
- 2 oz flaked almonds
- 4 oz plain chocolate
Directions:
- Melt the butter in saucepan, stir in milk and icing sugar. Remove from heat and blend in flour. Add the peel, cherries, angelica and almonds. Leave to cool (place the pan in a fridge for about half an hour).
- Line a baking sheet with baking paper and place small teaspoonfuls onto the prepared sheet. Space well apart to allow for spreading. Bake at Gas Mark 5/375F/190C for 10-12 minutes.
- Take out of oven and allow to cool on the tray for about 5 minutes.
- Using a palette knife or spatula carefully lift off onto a cooling rack.
- When they are cool, melt chocolate with a small knob of butter and then coat them with chocolate. Decorate using the tines of a fork to make waves. Allow to cool and store in an airtight tin.