Traditional, festive and possibly one of my all-time favourite biscuits

**prep time** 15 mins
total time 45 mins
**makes** 20-25

Florentines are my mum’s favourite biscuit, so she shared this recipe with me to recreate them, but totally vegan. A florentine is a sweet pastry with delicious nuts and fruits, with a layer of wavy-lined dark chocolate at the base. Enjoyed often at Christmas time, you will want to make these over and over again, because they never last very long!

All you’ll need is:

50g butter
50g light brown sugar
50g maple syrup (could use golden syrup)
50g plain flour
50g dried cranberries, roughly chopped
75g flaked almonds
30g pistachios kernels, roughly chopped
20g sunflower seeds
1 oranges, zested
150g dark chocolate
Pinch of sea salt

First line two baking trays, and then melt the butter, sugar and maple syrup in a saucepan over a gentle heat. Make sure to stir frequently. Once melted, you can remove from the heat and the saucepan. In a bowl, whisk through the flour to create a smooth texture similar to caramel. Pour in the chopped fruit and nuts, sea salt and orange zest. It’s at this time you’ll start to get very hungry because the smell is so delicious. The perfect combination of festive flavours.

You can chop the nuts and seeds more finely if you want a thinner and more refined biscuit, however I prefer it thicker and a bit more chunky.

Place around a tablespoon of the mixture onto the baking tray for each biscuit base. Allow room between each biscuit for them to spread a little. Squish each tablespoon of biscuit mixture down a little to flatten.

Bake in the oven for around 10 minutes, until golden brown. As these are small biscuits, and ovens vary, keep an eye on them in the last few minutes to make sure the don’t burn, as I have made this mistake before.

Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes until they have firmed up, and then transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool.

Next melt the chocolate in the microwave in bursts (or over a pan of boiling water). Turn the florentines over so the flat side is facing up. With a spoon, top with the melted chocolate, spreading to the edges of the biscuit. When the chocolate is just firm, draw wavy lines with a fork across each biscuit for the classic florentine design.

Leave to totally cool and harden at room temperature, turn over so the chocolate is at the base.

INGREDIENTS

50g butter
50g light brown sugar
50g maple syrup (could use golden syrup)
50g plain flour
50g dried cranberries, roughly chopped
75g flaked almonds
30g pistachios kernels, roughly chopped
20g sunflower seeds
1 oranges, zested
150g dark chocolate
Pinch of sea salt

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Line two baking sheets with silicone or baking parchment.
Melt the butter, sugar and maple syrup in a saucepan on a gentle heat, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour to create a caramel-like texture.
Add the cranberries, flaked almonds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, sea salt and orange zest, and stir through the mix.
Place approximately a tablespoon of the biscuit mix for each biscuit onto the baking sheets, leaving room between each for them to spread. Flatten slightly.
Bake for 10 mins, or until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of mins to firm up enough, so they can be lifted onto a cooling rack. Leave to set until completely cool.
Melt the chocolate in a microwave in 30 second blasts (good be careful and check regularly as can over cook and the chocolate may seize up). My microwave took a total of 2 and a half mins to melt, but will depends on individual microwaves. Alternately melt the chocolate on the hob in a bowl onto top of a pan of boiling water.
Once cooled, turn over the florentines and spoon chocolate onto the base of each florentine, carefully spreading to the edges. When the chocolate is just firm, using a fork, draw wavy lines across the chocolate. Leave to totally harden at room temp.