On the fifth day of Christmas, Jena’s Tiny Kitchen gave to you Florentines, Coconut Macaroons, Peppermint Pinwheels, Rice Krispie Treats and Snickerdoodle cookies.

I’d seen florentines in a multitude of Christmas cookbooks, and never even tried one prior to this recipe. This is a mostly Jamie Oliver recipe, with a few tweaks from Nigella, a Canadian Christmas book and my own taste buds.

The truth is that I probably made mine a bit too big, and used too much batter per scoop, so you can make yours much smaller and make them two-bite sized. But these were scrumptious, and they make a great, easy present or treat to take to all of those holiday parties you might be having.

My most favourite gifts are always food-related, especially when I get to eat the food. That’s why it’s been so much fun doing the Twelve Cookies of Christmas. And we’re only on day 5! I’ve been sharing so many cookies, I think everytime people see me now they expect me to have some treats for them to try.

You can buy store-bought candied citrus peel, or you can make your own. I used this recipe here and just used normal oranges and lemons. I also skipped the sugar-coating step at the end, and just stored them in an air-tight container in the fridge and used when I needed them.

Ingredients

50 grams unsalted butter
70 grams mixed candied citrus peel
150 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon plain flour
150 ml double cream
100 grams flaked almonds
80 grams sesame seeds
100 grams white chocolate
100 grams dark chocolate
6 tablespoons coconut oil

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line as two baking trays with baking paper.
2. Chop the cranberries and the mixed peel.
3. Melt the butter and sugar in a saucepan over low heat, then beat in the flour and cream for a few minutes until you get a light, caramel-type sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped cranberries, citrus peel, almonds and sesame seeds. Mix thoroughly until everything is combined well.
4. Place a teaspoon of the mixture on the baking paper, and flatten slightly with the spoon. Repeat with another teaspoonful of the mixture, but leave at least 10 centimetres between each spoonful of batter, as they will spread a lot.
5. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of minutes. Gently peel from the paper and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
6. Once completely cooled, melt the white chocolate and 3 tablespoons of coconut oil in a saucepan. Once fully melted, remove from the heat. Dip half of the florentines into the white chocolate, covering just half of each biscuit. Repeat with the dark chocolate, and dip the remaining florentines into the dark chocolate.
7. Place on baking paper to cool and set. Once set, place in an air-tight container on the baking paper. Can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.