Delicious double chocolate Florentine cookies, with dark chocolate on top and white chocolate on the bottom. You’ll love how easy these are to make and they are also gluten free and with no added fats.
Florentine cookies (Florentine lace cookies) are wonderfully delicious, thin and crispy almond cookies. Their origin may have been from Florence Italy, though some suggest they are French. Where ever, they are rich with the flavour of toasted almonds and especially pretty when made with whole, sliced almonds.
There are a lot of reasons to recommend Florentines beyond that. These cookies are gluten-free, dairy-free (there is no butter in these Florentine cookies) and low in fat. They keep well and can even be frozen. They are perfect to enjoy at home with a cup of something warm. And finally, they make great holiday cookie gifts, too!
Key Ingredients
Almonds – you will need sliced/flaked almonds for these cookies, which are the super thin, almond-shaped slices. Don’t confuse sliced almonds with slivered almonds, which are chunkier and not best suited for these cookies.
Chocolate – As noted below, you can use any colour or type of chocolate here. As long as it melts, it’s all good! I like a combination of white and dark chocolate, or you can add some milk chocolate as well, if you like. Your cookies, your choice :)
Salt – A nice finishing salt tops these cookies off beautifully. I like to use a little Fleur de Sel, but you can use any salt you like, such as Himalayan pink or grey salt or Morton’s etc. If you only have regular salt on hand, just use a very small amount, as it is more “salty”.
You will also need – Egg white, icing/confectioners sugar, vanilla, or vanilla bean paste
Baker’s Notes
Be sure to use a silicon mat (silpat) or parchment paper to cook these cookies on, so these cookies don’t stick to the baking pan or burn.
These cookies are crispiest in the first few days after baking, but while they will become a little softer with time, they are still delicious! If making ahead, consider freezing after cooling, but before adding chocolate, to preserve some of that extra crisp longer.
Variations
You can switch up the chocolate to your liking …
- Use just a chocolate drizzle on the top
- Use just a white chocolate dip on the bottom.
- Use any chocolate on the top and bottom (as done here)
- Add some milk chocolate drizzle with the dark chocolate on top.
If you are a fan of the chocolate/orange combination, replace the salt on top of the cookies with a bit of finely-grated orange zest.
Make a Florentine cookie sandwich, by sandwiching two Florentine cookies with chocolate in between or try spreading some Nutella in between!
Storage and Freezing
Florentine cookies will keep at least 2-3 weeks stored in an airtight container stored in a cool, dark place at room temperature. Store on their own, separated with sheets of parchment paper, so they aren’t touching each other. These cookies should also freeze well up to 3 months. If you have the option, freezing without the chocolate and then drizzling with chocolate after thawing will give the best results.
Get the Recipe: Double Chocolate Almond Florentine Cooies
Ingredients
- 1 cup almonds, sliced/flaked
- 1 large egg white
- 1/3 cup icing/confectioners sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
- White and dark chocolate, for garnish
- Fleur de Sel salt, for garnish (or similar finishing salt, such as Himalayan, Mortons etc.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300° F. with rack in centre of oven. Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat (such as silpat) or a piece of parchment paper and set aside. (If you don't have either, be sure to grease your baking sheet well.
- In a medium bowl, gently stir together the almonds, egg white, icing sugar and vanilla with a rubber spatula. *Stir gently so you don't crush the almonds.
- Spoon 1-inch balls of the almond mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, placing them about 4 inches apart. Using you fingers or a fork, flatten the balls into 2 1/2 to 3-inch discs. (You can dip fingers/fork in to cold water if they are sticking). Try to avoid having gaps between the almonds and be sure that the cookies are quite flat, as pieces of almond sticking up may cook more quickly and over-brown. The cookies don't spread much while baking, so it's ok if they're somewhat close after you flatten them. Try to keep at least an inch between though, if you can.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. **Check the cookies regularly after about 10 minutes, so they don't over-brown. If you made your cookies smaller, or your oven runs hot, they may be done in as little as 10-15 minutes, so be sure to check often. Remove from oven and allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling wire rack to cool completely before adding any chocolate.
- *You can use all white chocolate, all dark chocolate or both. You can put dark on the bottom, and white on the top. Or put white on the bottom and chocolate on top. Or put both as a drizzle just on top. These cookies are lovely all ways! See *Note 1 below on how to melt chocolate or chocolate chips.
- Once cookies are cool, melt the chocolate for the bottom of your cookies first. Flip cookies over. Spoon a puddle of melted chocolate in to middle of cookie and, using a small pastry brush or the back of a spoon, spread it out to the edges of the back of the cookie. Allow to stand, chocolate-side up, until the chocolate has set on the bottom.
- Once the chocolate on the bottom is set, flip the cookies over, right side up. Melt the chocolate for the top of the cookies. Using a fork or a wire whisk dipped in to the melted chocolate, drizzle some in a zigzag pattern over the top of the cookies. While the chocolate is still moist, sprinkle with a little bit of Fleur de Sel salt. Allow chocolate to set before storing cookies in an airtight container.
- Florentine cookies will keep at least 2-3 weeks stored in an airtight container stored in a cool, dark place at room temperature. Store on their own, separated with sheets of parchment paper, so they aren't touching each other. These cookies should also freeze well up to 3 months.
Notes
- Melting chocolate in the Microwave: Add chocolate chips or chopped chocolate to a measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for about 45 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir well. If small pieces of unmelted chocolate remain, return to the microwave for additional 15-second intervals until smooth.
- Melting chocolate on the Stovetop: Add chocolate chips or chopped chocolate to a glass or metal heatproof bowl. Heat about 1 inch of water in saucepan over medium heat until it reaches a gentle simmer. Place the bowl on top, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Stir the chocolate until melted and smooth.
Hi Jennifer, how long do these stay fresh for? I’d love to make some for giving out at Christmas time but am not sure how long these would remain fresh for.
Hi Janice, if you store these in an airtight container in a cool, dark place, they should keep for 2-3 weeks and maybe longer. I like to store them on their own, separated by small pieces of parchment paper, so they aren’t touching each other.
Can these be frozen? Thank you. They look yummy and easy to make as a part of other desserts for parties..
Hi Betsy, I haven’t frozen them, but I feel they would do fine in the freezer.
Hi Jennifer
The florentines look wonderful – have been searching for a beaurifully simple recipes with flaked almonds for ages and yours is by far the best I’ve seen! Would it be possible to add a small amount of dried sour cherries to the mix without ruining the lovely recipe?
Hi Sue, I think you could. You’d want to chop them very finely, as the cookies are quite flat and you probably wouldn’t want the cherries to end up sticking out the top too much. Enjoy!
Is there a replacement for egg in this recepie
Hi Mak, there really is no substitute that I can think of. The egg is what holds it together.
Hello! These look amazing! Can’t wait to try them.
I was wondering how long they stay crispy for and how to store them if I want to serve them tomorrow at a party. Thanks!
Hi Inna, sorry, I was away for the weekend so maybe too late, but these keep pretty well :)
Ita alright:) no worries. These turned out amazing and I got a lot of compliments at our potluck party. I ended up making 4 times the recipe , but by then end, only 3 remained! They definitely were better the first day, but still delicious the next. A little softer/chewier, but they held up just fine.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe! Can’t wait to find an excuse to make them again!
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Just a quick question as I’ve never made these before. You just leave the egg white as it is? No beating or anything?
That’s right Ana. Just leave the egg white as it is. It’s really just acting as the moist “glue” that holds these together and it will dry out/cook in the oven.
Just made these – they are so yummy!!! Best of luck to your daughter with college!
So glad you enjoyed them, Martha and thanks so much re daughter and college. I’m going to miss her terribly, but so excited for her at the same time. Thankfully, she’ll only be a few hours away and I’m pretty sure she’ll be coming home often for some good food :)
i am definitely craving a Florentine right now, they probably have to be the best tasting sweet cookie treat EVER. will be saving this recipe to recreate in my kitchen. thanks!
Enjoy, Thalia!
Aww, so fun!! These cookies look delicious!
Thanks Katrina!
So fun to have your daughter do a post! I LOVED reading about how she saw a peer reading your blog in the school library :) That is so awesome! These cookies are just lovely, and since they’re unleavened, they sound like something even I couldn’t screw up! Haha! I love almonds. I must try these!
Thanks Sophie. It was great fun doing a post with her. She’s a real foodie (guess she didn’t have much choice ;), but hope to do more as she loves to cook. And you must try these cookies. Honestly, they lasted 20 minutes here. So good!!
These are the prettiest florentines I have ever seen! So sweet and love the extra chocolate!
Thanks Jessica. My daughter is a bit of a perfectionist, so her baking is always extra pretty!
I love Florentines, I’d like a dozen of these! :)
I’d like a dozen more, Laura, because these lasted about 20 minutes :)