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    Home » Recipes » Cookies and Biscuits

    Vegan Florentine Biscuits

    Published: Nov 20, 2016 · Modified: Feb 2, 2022 by annabanana · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · 8 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    It's beginning to look a lot like... cookies everywhere!!!! Only 5 weeks until Christmas peeps, therefore, I'm starting on all the seasonal bakes and recipes! And I've already seen tons of great recipes flying around, so I've decided it's time for me to start all the festive kitchen activities! As a result... here we go... first seasonal recipe on the blog, and it's no other than delicious Florentine biscuits, that just happen to be vegan...

    Vegan Florentine Biscuits

    As a kid, I don't really remember us baking cookies before Christmas. Perhaps we are just more of the cake orientated family 😉 Whatever we didn't bake in cookies, we've made up for it in cakes! Nowadays, baking cookies in a festive season is almost like a ritual. And I can see why! There is SO MUCH fun involved in making any kind of cookies or biscuits!!!

    Vegan Florentine biscuits

    If you are following this blog for a while, you will know that I have a soft spot for cookies.  And who doesn't??? They just make the world a better place, plus they gave a cup of tea a whole new dimension!

    Florentine Biscuits (Vegan)

    So let me start by telling you, how my adventure with Florentine biscuits started. While visiting Venice last November, we found ourselves in the heaviest downpour ever in the middle of St Mark's Square, drenched and desperate to get the roof over our heads, and a cup of coffee (and a cake or ten 😉 ). Maybe it was pure luck, maybe work of gods, but we've ended up in Cafe Florian. Which, my friends, just happened to be the oldest cafe in Europe.

    Vegan Florentine Biscuits recipe. Perfect crunchy and crumbly biscuit with caramel topping, flaked almonds and glace cherries. Ideal biscuit for this holiday season! | via @annabanana.co

    Once you enter, you will be mesmerized by it's magnificent 19th- century rooms and every single detail inside. Almost like you just traveled in time... Then there's menu. Just to read the whole thing took good 30 minutes, not to mention additional 20 minutes to google the names of some of their specialties.

    Somehow, we've managed to make the decision and ordered couple of coffees, and a selection of biscuits/ cookies/ cakes (yup!). And HOLLY COW!!! My mouth never experienced anything like it!!! This was truly the best afternoon tea in the whole universe! So if you ever get a chance, you must visit it for yourself (try not to pass out when you are given the bill 😉 ). Trust me, it's going to be the best cup of coffee in your life accompanied by even better biscuits!

    Vegan Florentine Biscuits recipe. Perfect crunchy and crumbly biscuit with caramel topping, flaked almonds and glace cherries. Ideal biscuit for this holiday season! | via @annabanana.co

    Delicious Florentine biscuits, perfect for this holiday season! Crumbly, crunchy biscuit with caramel topping studded with glace cherries and flaked almonds with chocolate coating. Ideal as a gift for friends and family! | via@annabanana.co

    And this is how me and Florentine biscuit met. Since then, they have a special place in my heart. Just in case if you are not familiar with Florentines, they are crisp and crumbly caramel biscuits studded with cherries or any other glace fruits. The underside of the biscuit is usually dipped in chocolate (to make it even better!). Sometimes they are served with jam or cream, sandwiched between two biscuits. Pure YUM, if you ask me...

    Delicious Florentine biscuits, perfect for this holiday season! Crumbly, crunchy biscuit with caramel topping studded with glace cherries and flaked almonds with chocolate coating. Ideal as a gift for friends and family! | via@annabanana.co

    They are Christmas classic in Italy, and most people believe that the origin of the recipe for this awesome biscuit is in Florence, hence the name. But France and Austria also believe that they are the inventors and claim their right to it.

    Delicious Florentine biscuits, perfect for this holiday season! Crumbly, crunchy biscuit with caramel topping studded with glace cherries and flaked almonds with chocolate coating. Ideal as a gift for friends and family! | via@annabanana.co

    Maybe I was too optimistic, or maybe I underestimated this great little biscuit, but it took me three attempts to get them right. First batch came out too thin, and caramel didn't melt properly. Second batch- not enough caramel to cover the surface of the biscuit (in the way I wanted it to 😉 ). Third one- BINGO!

    Vegan Florentine Biscuits recipe. Perfect crunchy and crumbly biscuit with caramel topping, flaked almonds and glace cherries. Ideal biscuit for this holiday season! | via @annabanana.co

    As you will see on the pictures, some of them have more caramel topping than others, as it can be a little bit tricky to spread the topping once it sets. So try to work your way through them quickly, as it will become harder and more difficult with time.

    Another crucial part: chilling the dough. You must allow at least an hour in the fridge, preferably even longer, because it will be much easier to work with, once it's chilled. Lastly, keep them quite thick, about £1 coin thickness will hold the caramel topping much better and it will give you more of the desired crunch 🙂

    Delicious Florentine biscuits, perfect for this holiday season! Crumbly, crunchy biscuit with caramel topping studded with glace cherries and flaked almonds with chocolate coating. Ideal as a gift for friends and family! | via@annabanana.co

    So, here we are friends, first seasonal recipe, which I really hope you will love as much as I do (and it's for the fraction of the price you will be charged in Florence or Venice 😉 ). Beautiful, delicious biscuits, which will also work as a perfect gift for friends and family! Use decorative bags or boxes, some seasonal ribbon, and voila! Watch them disappear!

    How about you? What's your favorite cookie/ biscuit recipe during holiday season?

    Delicious Florentine biscuits, perfect for this holiday season! Crumbly, crunchy biscuit with caramel topping studded with glace cherries and flaked almonds with chocolate coating. Ideal as a gift for friends and family! | via@annabanana.co

    Delicious Florentine biscuits, perfect for this holiday season! Crumbly, crunchy biscuit with caramel topping studded with glace cherries and flaked almonds with chocolate coating. Ideal as a gift for friends and family! | via@annabanana.co
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Vegan Florentine Biscuits

    Recipe for classic Italian Christmas biscuit, Florentine. Delicious, crumbly and crunchy, topped with glace cherries and flaked almonds.
    Prep Time1 hr 55 mins
    Cook Time25 mins
    Total Time2 hrs 20 mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Vegan
    Servings: 35 biscuits
    Calories: 129kcal
    Author: Anna

    Ingredients

    For the biscuits:

    • 175 g butter softened dairy- free if vegan
    • 85 g golden caster sugar
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 225 g plain flour plus extra for dusting
    • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

    For Florentine topping:

    • 50 g butter dairy free if vegan
    • 50 g light brown sugar
    • 50 g golden syrup
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 50 g plain flour
    • 75 g glace cherries chopped
    • 75 g flaked almonds
    • 150 g dark chocolate chopped
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    Instructions

    • To make the biscuits, put the butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until creamy. Add the flour and cinnamon and combine with a spatula to make a soft dough. Form into a ball and wrap in cling film. Chill for at least 1 hour.
    • Heat the oven to 180 C and line a baking sheet with parchment.
    • In a saucepan, melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup and salt. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour, then stir in the cherries and almonds. Set aside to cool down and firm up a little.
    • Tip the dough into a floured work surface and roll out to the thickness of £1 coin . Using 6cm fluted cookie cutter, stamp out as many circles as you can, then use the trimmings, re-roll the dough and cut out some more.
    • Transfer to the baking sheet and spoon some of the Florentine mixture into each biscuit until it's all used up.
    • Bake on the middle shelf for 12-15 minutes, until the biscuits are golden and the topping has melted. Leave to cool on the sheet for at least 15 minutes.
    • While the biscuits cool, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of gently simmering water. Dip each biscuit about third of the way into the chocolate, then return back to the sheet to set.
    • Enjoy!

    Please note that all my recipes are developed and tested in metric grams. I recommend that you use digital scales for a more accurate results. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 129kcal
    Did you make this?Tell me how you like it? Leave a comment or take a picture and tag @anna_wierzbinska on Instagram. I love seeing your take on my recipes!
    Delicious Florentine biscuits, perfect for this holiday season! Crumbly, crunchy biscuit with caramel topping studded with glace cherries and flaked almonds with chocolate coating. Ideal as a gift for friends and family! | via@annabanana.co

    This recipe was adapted from Good Food website.

    More Best Cookies and Biscuits Recipes

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Evi @ greenevi

      November 25, 2016 at 9:42 am

      These look incredible, Anna! I love Florentine biscuits! I have never made them myself before, so I'm so happy I've found this recipe now 🙂
      Pinned of course ❤️

      Reply
      • annabanana

        November 25, 2016 at 9:59 pm

        Yayyy! Glad to hear we have another thing in common (apart from potato love, obvs)! 😉 And happy to make you happy Evi! 🙂 xxx

        Reply
    2. Kimberly/TheLittlePlantation

      November 21, 2016 at 7:15 pm

      This looks SOOOOOO good!!!! And I don't remember seeing these on instagram. Either I missed it 🙁 or I have awful memory. Thanks for sharing this. Wanna lick the screen 🙂
      Hugs
      K

      Reply
      • annabanana

        November 21, 2016 at 7:18 pm

        Hah! You're the best!!! And you have pretty good memory, not posted on Instagram yet, so thanks for reminding me ? ? ! And thank you so much for stopping by Kimberly, love as always! ❤️

        Reply
    3. Hana | Nirvana Cakery

      November 20, 2016 at 4:42 pm

      These look so festive and delicious Anna! I'm totally getting into the Christmas mood too with all of these fabulous recipes. x

      Reply
      • annabanana

        November 20, 2016 at 5:39 pm

        Thanks so much Hana! 🙂 Can't wait for Christmas and all the food! So many recipes to try, so little time! 😉 xx

        Reply
    4. annabanana

      November 20, 2016 at 3:46 pm

      Hey Geraldine! 🙂 Thanks so much! they are definitely one of my fav biscuits, and so much fun to make! Let me know did you like them! Xxx

      Reply
    5. Eatwithfingers

      November 20, 2016 at 11:25 am

      5 stars
      Anna, I am dying for those. Will try them this week ❤️.

      Reply

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