Christmas is just a couple of weeks away, and this is truly the time of year when we can all indulge in delicious foodie treats without a guilty conscience.
TV presenter and queen of all things homemade, Kirstie Allsopp, shares her special recipe for festive Florentines here, which are ideal for serving up as a post-dinner treat.
Crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside, the biscuits are a little piece of heaven!
It’s a quick and easy recipe to follow so the biscuits are ideal for making with the kids over the school holidays.
Florentines also are also ideal to give to loved ones in Christmas stockings - all you need to do is get you hands on some cellophane bags tied with ribbon, and pop the biscuits inside, and voila, you’ll have a pretty gift.
It takes around 10 minutes to prepare the ingredients and 10 to 15 minutes to make the Florentines.
Ingredients: (makes 12 biscuits):
• 25g (1oz) butter
• 25g (1oz) light brown soft sugar
• 100g (3½oz) condensed milk
• 2tsp plain flour
• 150g (5½oz) mixed dried fruit and nuts such as apricots, cranberries, blueberries, cherries, toasted flaked almonds, desiccated coconut etc
• 85g (3oz) dark chocolate
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C, (160C for fan ovens) or Gas Mark 4.
2. Melt the butter and sugar in a non-stick saucepan stirring until combined.
3. Add the condensed milk and heat until just bubbling.
4. Stir in the plain flour and mix until smooth.
5. Stir in the dried fruit and nuts.
6. Place spoonfuls of the mixture onto parchment lined baking sheets and bake for about 12 minutes until turning golden brown at the edges.
7. Leave to cool on the tray.
8. When cool, melt the chocolate and spread a small amount on the flat side of the florentine then drag a fork through the chocolate to make wavy lines.
FESTIVE TREATS:
