Ingredients
2½cupsalmonds,slivered
¼cupall-purpose flour
2tbspnatural cocoa powder,not Dutch process
¼tspnutmeg,ground, optional but recommended
¾cupwhite granulated sugar
½cupbutter,(1 stick) unsalted
¼cupheavy cream
2tbsphoney
1tspvanilla extract
10ozdark chocolate,chopped, to finish
Preparation
Place the slivered almonds in a food processor.
Pulse until the almonds are broken down into smaller bits, about ¼-inch in size. They should be the size of the chopped nuts that would be sprinkled over an ice cream sundae.
Add the flour and cocoa powder to the food processor bowl. Pulse a couple of times to blend together.
In a medium-sized saucepan, place the sugar, butter, cream, and honey.
Heat until the sugar is dissolved and the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Add the dry almond mixture and stir until incorporated.
Set aside to cool for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Once the batter has cooled (it will still be warm), use a teaspoon measure to spoon out the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet (1 teaspoon per cookie).
Space the cookies about 3-inches apart, as they will spread a lot during baking. (6 cookies fit comfortably in a 12×18-inch sheet)
Dip a finger in some water, then use it to spread the batter into a round circle, with the nuts in a single layer on the pan to encourage the batter to spread evenly in a circle.
Bake the cookies in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven once the edges of the cookies start to darken and brown and transfer to a cooling rack.
Be careful as the cookies go from done to burnt fairly fast.
While the cookies are still warm from the oven, take a look at them and see if any of them are not quite round.
If they are not as nicely shaped as desired, use a spatula to carefully nudge the sides of the cookie into a round circle. Work fairly quickly as the cookies firm up as they cool.
Let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 to 20 minutes, until they are set.
Let the cookies cool completely.
Continue baking the cookies in batches until all the batter has been used.
Once the cookies have all been baked and cooled, melt the dark chocolate by placing it in a microwave-safe bowl and cooking it in 30-second increments.
Stir the chocolate between each increment. Alternatively, melt the chocolate on a double boiler if preferred.
Once the chocolate has melted, pick 2 cookies that are roughly the same size and smear a thin layer of chocolate on the bottom of one of them.
Place the matching cookie bottom on top and set the cookie sandwich on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a wire rack.
Repeat with the remaining cookies. Drizzle any remaining chocolate over the Florentines.
Wait for the chocolate to firm up and harden before serving or packaging.
