When your friend tells you she had a life-changing Florentine cookie in Amsterdam, you’re obligated to recreate it. And it’s an excellent thing, too, because the outcomes are undeniably delicious — caramelly, crispy, salty-sweet perfection!
Bonus? These Florentines are vegan, gluten-free, naturally sweetenedAND require just 8 ingredientsincluding nutrient-packed whole grains and seeds! What are you waiting for!? Let’s make life-changing Florentines!
These caramelly cookies start with, well…the caramel! But there’s no candy thermometer or complicated methods here. Just mix vegan butter (or coconut oil), coconut sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt in a saucepan, whisking until it achieves a thick, caramel-like consistency.
Next, we mix up a mixture of nutrient-packed whole grains and seeds (pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and rolled oats or sunflower seeds).
Then we mix the coarsely ground oat/seed mixture with the caramelly mixture and we’ve got cookie dough. Yes, it’s easy!
After dolloping the dough onto baking sheets, we’re headed straight for cookie land. Once within the oven, the cookie dough spreads out (so much!) to seem like classic Florentine cookies.
The cookies will change into deep golden brown on the sides and crisp and snap-able. You can enjoy them immediately or decorate with melted chocolate to make them pretty and decadent!
We hope you LOVE these Florentine cookies. They’re:
Crispy
Caramelly
Salty-sweet
Nutty without nuts
SO easy to make
& Undeniably delicious!
These cookies make a beautiful gift, tea time treat, or snack to enjoy throughout the week.
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If you are attempting this recipe, tell us! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photograph @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Servings 12 (Cookies)
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- 2 Tbsp vegan butter (or sub coconut oil)
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup rolled oats (certified gluten-free as needed // or sub raw sunflower seeds)
- 1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds (also called nuggets)
- 1/3 cup hemp hearts (shelled hemp seeds)
- 1/2 heaping cup chopped dark chocolate ( // ensure dairy-free as needed)
- Flaky sea salt ()
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line two standard-size (13- x 18-inch or larger) baking sheets with parchment paper.
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COOKIES: In a small saucepan, mix the vegan butter (or coconut oil), coconut sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and sea salt. Whisking almost always, cook the mixture over medium heat until the coconut sugar is dissolved and the mixture just begins to bubble and look “foamy.” This takes about 3-5 minutes (adjust time if making a smaller/larger batch size). Remove from heat and let cool barely.
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In a food processor or high-speed blendermix rolled oats (or sunflower seeds), pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds. Process/mix until you achieve a rough meal with no whole oats remaining — about 30 seconds. Be careful to not overprocess. Transfer seed mixture to a mixing bowl and add the nice and cozy “caramel” mixture. Mix with a spoon or spatula until evenly combined.
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Using a 1-Tbsp cookie scoopevenly place 6 “cookies” onto each prepared baking sheet. They will spread considerably, so avoid the temptation to overcrowd the pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes (10 for chewier, 12 for crispy in our oven) watching very closely at the top to stop burning (know that everybody’s oven is different!). At 12 minutes, the cookies must be evenly bubbling in the center and deep golden brown on the sides. Let cool on the baking sheet for five minutes.
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OPTIONAL: Right after removing from the oven, while cookies are still warm, smoosh the sides in for a cleaner look. Alternatively, if desired, use a round cookie cutter to get perfectly round cookies. We pushed in some wonky edges but left them looking mostly rustic. You can even sprinkle the highest of your warm cookies with a pinch of flaky sea salt and/or hemp seeds!
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CHOCOLATE (OPTIONAL): While the cookies cool, place the chocolate right into a small microwavable bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between to stop burning, until smooth and melted. You can even melt on the stovetop by adding chocolate to a small glass or metal bowl and punctiliously placing it over ~1 inch of simmering water in a small saucepan, then stirring until melted. Set aside to chill barely.
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There are two options for adding chocolate to the cookies: “dipping” or drizzling.
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For dipping, once the cookies are fully cooled and crispy (about 5 minutes), flip them over and punctiliously add ~2 tsp melted chocolate to the underside of every cookie. Carefully spread the chocolate out with a butter knife or the back of a spoon. You can use a fork to create squiggly lines within the chocolate should you’re feeling fancy! Let the chocolate set at room temperature for 15-20 minutes, or, should you’re impatient like us, transfer cookies to the refrigerator to set the chocolate in ~5 minutes.
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For drizzling, simply use a spoon to evenly drizzle the tops of the Florentines with the melted chocolate. Let the chocolate set at room temperature for 15-20 minutes, or transfer to the refrigerator to set faster.
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Enjoy! Leftover cookies keep at a cool room temperature for 3-4 days, or within the refrigerator for as much as 1 week. They also keep well within the freezer for longer-term storage! If you store chocolate-dipped or drizzled cookies at room temperature, we recommend placing pieces of parchment or wax paper in between the cookies to stop a melted chocolate mess.
Serving: 1 cookie Calories: 100 Carbohydrates: 10.8 g Protein: 2.7 g Fat: 5.6 g Saturated Fat: 1.8 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.4 g Monounsaturated Fat: 0.8 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 61 mg Potassium: 101 mg Fiber: 0.6 g Sugar: 8.1 g Vitamin A: 0 IU Vitamin C: 0 mg Calcium: 13 mg Iron: 0.7 mg
