Hemp Seed Florentine Cookies (Vegan + GF)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line two standard-size (13- x 18-inch or larger) baking sheets with parchment paper.

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.

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!

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.

There are two options for adding chocolate to the cookies: “dipping” or drizzling.

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.

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.

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.