Florentine Rolls Recipes

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
• Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped, but not pasty. Stir together the nuts, flour, zest and salt in a large bowl.
• Put the sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a rolling boil and sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, then pour mixture into almond mixture and stir just to combine. Set aside until cool enough to handle, 30 minutes.
• Scoop rounded teaspoons (for 3-inch cookies) or rounded tablespoons (for 6-inch cookies) of batter and roll into balls. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 3 to 4 inches between each cookie since they spread.
• Bake 1 pan at a time, until the cookies are thin and an even golden brown color throughout, rotating pans halfway through baking time, about 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve.
• Optional chocolate topping: Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very low simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, about 1 to 2 minutes more.)
• For sandwiches: Drop about 1/2 teaspoon chocolate onto on the flat side of half of the cookies and press together with remaining halves. Return to rack and let chocolate set.
• For chocolate decor: Drizzle melted chocolate over Florentines as desired. Set aside at room temperature until chocolate is set.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner (such as Silpat®).
• Place almonds into the bowl of a food processor; alternate pulsing and running at full speed every few seconds until finely chopped and crumblike. Be careful not to go too far; you don't want them too fine and pasty.
• Combine butter, brown sugar, and honey in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir a few times and cook until melted and dissolved. Bring to a boil, then carefully remove from the heat.
• Add vanilla extract, salt, and flour, and whisk until smooth. Add chopped almonds and mix with a spatula until everything is combined.
• Drop eight uniformly sized, rounded spoonfuls of batter (each about 2 teaspoons, or 15 grams) onto the prepared sheet. Fine-tune the cookie shapes and make sure they are evenly spaced.
• Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake until golden brown and a bit darker around the outsides, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
• Remove from the oven and slide the silicone liner off the baking sheet and directly onto the countertop. Allow to sit until cool and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes, then gently peel cookies off the liner. Repeat to bake remaining batches.
• Spread melted chocolate over the flat side of one cookie. Place a second cookie, flat-side down, on top to make a sandwich and press very gently to seal. Repeat to form remaining cookies. Let sit until chocolate has firmed up, about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the almonds, flour and zest in a medium bowl. Stir the sugar, butter, cream, and honey in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the almond mixture. Cool the batter for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using 2 teaspoons of batter for each cookie, spoon 8 mounds of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly apart (the cookies will spread). Flatten the batter slightly with your finger.
• Bake the cookies until they are lacy and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Gently slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto a rack and cool completely. Transfer the cookies to paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter, lining the baking sheets with clean parchment for each batch. (The cookies can be made up to this point 2 months ahead. Cool completely, then store airtight in the freezer. Defrost before continuing.)
• Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Spread the melted chocolate over the bottom of 1 cookie. Top with a second cookie, bottom side down, pressing lightly to adhere. Repeat with the remaining cookies and chocolate.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Set the pork on a cutting board and imagine you're going to cut an upside-down letter T into it: in other words, slice half-way through, lengthwise, then half-way through to the left and the right. Open out the meat. Lay plastic wrap over it, and pound flat with a mallet. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
• Rinse the spinach and spin dry, allowing a little water to remain clinging to the leaves. Put it in a saute pan, cover, and wilt, about 5 minutes. Lay the spinach on a clean tea or kitchen towel and squeeze dry. Chop, and set aside.
• Wipe out the pan and put if back on the stove. Fry the bacon until cooked, remove to drain. Pour off all but a tablespoon or 2 of the fat and fry the onion until golden. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir through the bread crumbs and spinach. Season with salt and pepper.
• Pat the stuffing over the meat, leaving a 1-inch border. Roll and tie the pork at 2-inch intervals. Wipe out the saute pan and heat the oil in it. Brown the meat on all sides, pour in the wine, and then transfer to the oven and roast until done, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the meat rest 10 minutes. Wrap for later, or slice and serve with the pan juices poured over.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375. Grease 12 muffin cups and set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoons oil and cook green onions and garlic until tender.
• Add spinach and basil; cook and stir over medium heat until just wilted. Drain off excess liquid. Stir in salt and pepper; set aside to cool.
• On a well-floured surface, unroll pizza dough and shape into a 12x8 rectangle. Brush surface of dough with remaining olive oil. Spread spinach mixture to within one inch of the edges of the dough. Sprinkle with feta and pine nuts.
• Starting with a long side, roll into a spiral. Slice roll into 12 pieces and place cut-side up in prepared muffin cups. Brush with butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand in muffin cups for 2 minutes. Remove carefully and serve warm.

Steps:

• 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, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 1 hr.
• 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 and firm up a little. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Using a 6cm fluted cookie cutter, stamp out as many circles as you can, then scrunch up the trimmings, re -roll and stamp out some more. Transfer to the baking sheet, and spoon some of the Florentine mixture onto each biscuit until it's all used up. Bake on the middle shelf for 12-15 mins until the biscuits are golden and the topping has melted. Leave to cool on the sheet for at least 15 mins.
• While the biscuits cool, melt the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of gently simmering water, or in short bursts in the microwave. Stir every 30 secs or so to ensure it doesn't burn. Dip each biscuit about a third of the way into the chocolate, then return to the sheet to set. You may need to spoon the chocolate over the final few. Will keep for up to four days in a sealed container.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour then add the cherries, flaked almonds, pistachios and orange zest.
• Scoop 10 flat tbsp of the mixture onto the baking sheets, leaving room for them to spread. You will need to do these in batches. Bake for 10 mins until golden. Leave to cool for 2 mins until firm enough to lift onto a wire rack. Cool completely. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a simmering saucepan of water or in the microwave in 30 second bursts. Turn the florentines over on the wire rack. Spoon chocolate onto the base of each florentine and gently spread to the edges. When the chocolate is firm enough to hold its shape, use a fork to draw wavy lines across the chocolate. Leave to set and then store in an airtight container.

Steps:

• For the chicken Florentine roll-ups: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Thaw the spinach in the microwave or on the stove as per the directions on the package, then place it in a strainer and squeeze out as much liquid as possible, discarding the liquid.
• Chop the sun-dried tomatoes, grate the Parmesan cheese, and chop the basil, and place them in a medium bowl with 2/3 cup of the spinach, the goat cheese, egg white, 1/8 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Stir with a fork until well incorporated.
• Spread 3 tablespoons of the filling on the top half of each chicken breast, roll up, and secure with 2 toothpicks. (See Cook's Note.) Sprinkle the chicken rolls with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet with a cover over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken rolls until golden, 2 minutes per side. Pour the chicken broth over the rolls, cover, and transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake until the chicken is cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes.
• For the lemon-thyme orzo pilaf: Peel and chop the shallots. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the orzo and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the broth, bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the orzo is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 8 to 9 minutes.
• Meanwhile, halve the tomatoes, grate the cheese, chop the thyme, and zest and juice the lemon (1 teaspoon zest and 1 1/2 tablespoons juice). When the orzo is done, stir in the tomatoes, thyme, lemon zest and juice, cheese, salt, and pepper. Cover and let sit off the heat for 5 minutes before serving.
• To serve, drizzle the roll-ups with the liquid from the skillet and serve with the orzo.

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Mix chicken, red bell pepper, spinach, Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, lemon zest, salt, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Set aside. Unroll crescent roll dough, and separate into 16 triangles. Arrange triangles in a circle on a 13-inch baking stone or pizza pan with the wide ends of the triangles overlapping in the center and points facing out. The center diameter should be about 5-inches. Scoop chicken mixture evenly onto the widest end of each triangle. Bring the outer point of each triangle towards the center of the circle and tuck the point under the wide end of the dough. The filling will not be completely covered.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Slice and serve.