A batch of soft, chewy, and easy Almond Florentines is made up of flaked almonds, glacé cherries, and sultanas and mixed with butter and golden syrup. Each biscuit is then spread with a delicious layer of melted dark chocolate on the base.
Like my chocolate crinkle cookies, these almond florentine cookies are wonderful for the holiday season!
Consider these florentines a healthier version of the traditional cornflake-loaded florentines. This recipe uses flaked almonds instead and they're SO EASY!
Table of Contents
🍒 Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Flaked almonds are a great alternative to cornflakes that are often used in florentines.
- Sweet & juicy glacé cherries are vibrant, festive and tasty.
- Chocolate base adds extra deliciousness and texture.
⭐ What Are Florentines?
If you’re not familiar with almond florentine cookies, they’re a biscuit/cookie that has several variations depending on what recipe you try.
You will find them made with cornflakes and condensed milk however, this almond florentine recipe I’m sharing with you doesn’t use either of those ingredients.
It instead uses flaked almonds, butter, and golden syrup.
These can also be considered chocolate florentines as they have a delicious layer of melted dark chocolate on the base.
The chocolate adds another level of flavor and texture, it also helps hold them together as they're delicate after baking.
You may also like to try some other festive cookie recipes such as these delightful Cranberry & White Chocolate Cookies!
📋 Ingredient Notes
Below are the ingredients that you need to make these easy almond florentines:
Flaked almonds: Be sure to use flaked almonds and not slivered almonds.
Glacé cherries: Find these delicious candied cherries from your local supermarket. They’re bright red and shine in these almond florentines. Can be substituted with dried cranberries.
Sultanas: Can be substituted with raisins. If your raisins are large, roughly chop them. You may also like to use currants however, they’re a lot smaller and won't need to be chopped.
All-purpose flour: You can swap this for gluten-free all-purpose flour to make these florentines gluten-free if desired.
Golden syrup: Help the florentines stick together. Can be substituted with rice malt syrup. Do not use maple syrup as it's not sticky enough.
Dark chocolate: Use melted milk chocolate or white chocolate for a fun twist!
🥣 Step By Step Instructions
How to make delicious holiday almond florentines from scratch in 9 easy steps!
There is a full and detailed recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step one: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add almonds, cherries, sultanas and flour. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined. Set aside.
Step two: In a small pot, add butter and golden syrup. Place over a low-medium heat and gently melt butter until smooth and well combined with the syrup, making sure it doesn’t come to a boil. Remove from heat.
Step three: Pour melted butter mixture over dry mixture and stir until well combined and ingredients are coated.
Step four: Pick up 1 heaping tablespoon of mixture and dollop onto lined tray. Flatten out slightly with the back of a spoon. Repeat with remaining mixture.
Step five: Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden all over and they’re set around the edges.
Step seven: Dollop a teaspoon of melted chocolate onto the flat bottom base of one florentine and gently spread chocolate too cover the base using the back of a spoon or a butter knife. Repeat with remaining florentines.
Step eight: Transfer rack with florentines to the refrigerator so the chocolate can set. Or leave them at room temperature until set. Serve and enjoy!
💭 Tips For Recipe Success
- Halve the glacé cherries as they will be too large if used whole. Having larger pieces of fruit and nuts in these florentines will cause crumbling.
- To make gluten-free florentines swap the regular flour for plain gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- Allow florentines to cool for 10 minutes on the tray after baking to firm up as they are very delicate and soft once baked and they will fall apart if handled too early.
- Be sure your florentines are cooled completely before spreading the melted chocolate on the bases.
⏲️ Storage Instructions
Store florentines in an airtight container, refrigerated, for 1 week - 10 days.
💬 Recipe FAQ's
I recommend substituting the golden syrup with rice malt syrup or honey if desired. The syrup needs to have a sticky consistency to stick the dry ingredients together and unfortunately, maple syrup isn’t as sticky enough.
Yes, you absolutely can! Substitute the glacé cherries for dried cranberries using the same quantity. You don’t have to chop or halve the cranberries either because they’re small.
You don’t have to add the chocolate base to these florentines. You can simply bake the florentines and leave them to cool and enjoy. The chocolate adds another delicious layer but they’re certainly perfect without the chocolate too.
If you enjoy this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️ star rating and a comment review below. I love to hear what you think and it's much appreciated. Thank you! Your email address will not be published. Sam x
Recipe Card
Almond Florentine Recipe
Ingredients
Florentines
- ¾ cup flaked almonds
- ⅓ cup glacé cherries, halved use scissors to make it easy to half the cherries
- ⅓ cup sultanas
- ⅓ cup plain all purpose flour
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoon golden syrup
Chocolate Base
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Florentines
- Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, add almonds, cherries, sultanas and flour. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, add butter and golden syrup. Place over a low-medium heat and gently melt butter until smooth and well combined with the syrup, making sure it doesn’t come to a boil. Remove from heat.
- Pour melted butter mixture over dry mixture and stir until well combined and ingredients are coated.
- Pick up 1 heaping tablespoon of mixture and dollop onto lined tray. Flatten out slightly with the back of a spoon.
- Repeat with remaining mixture, ensuring to leave about a 5cm - 10 cm gap between each florentine as they do spread out a little.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden all over and they’re set around the edges. NOTE: the caramelized liquid can leak out of some biscuits during baking, this is normal!
- Remove from oven and allow to cool a little on the tray for 10 minutes to harden and firm up slightly.
- Carefully remove from tray and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Be careful lifting them off the tray as they will be hot. Use a spatula to help you.
- The florentines will be quite soft but they’ll firm up once they cool.
Chocolate base
- Once florentines have cooled completely, melt the chocolate.
- Prepare a double boiler by placing a heat proof mixing bowl over a small/medium sized pot of simmering water.
- Add broken up/chopped chocolate to the bowl.
- Gently melt over a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally until completely melted and smooth. Once chocolate has melted, remove from heat.
- Dollop a teaspoon of melted chocolate onto the flat bottom base of one florentine and gently spread chocolate too cover the base using the back of a spoon or a butter knife. Place back onto wire rack. Repeat with remaining florentines.
- Transfer rack with florentines to the refrigerator so the chocolate can set. Or leave them at room temperature until set.
- Serve and enjoy!
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