Dolce Alla Fiorentino
Source of Recipe
Internet
List of Ingredients
1 cup sliced unblanched almonds
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons clover or orange blossom honey
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose or unbleached white flour
1/3 cup very finely diced, candied orange peel
Very finely grated zest of 2 medium oranges
CHOCOLATE GLAZE
1/2 teaspoon solid vegetable shortening
3 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
Recipe
Preheat 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 until
smooth. Stir in the chopped almonds, candied orange peel, and
orange zest.
Drop batter by very small, evenly shaped 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 sliced almonds.
Place in the upper third of the oven and bake for 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 them as soon as they are
thoroughly baked but not overcooked. (They will be chewy and
difficult to remove from the foil if undercooked and taste slightly
burned if overcooked.) Remove baking sheets from oven and let
stand for 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 undercooked 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 foil. Place them 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, glazed 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 airtight containers with sheets
of waxed paper between the layers for up to a week. Florentines
may be frozen and then thawed in the refrigerator prior to serving,
if desired.
Makes about 45 2 1/2-inch wafers.
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