Lace cookies, also know sometimes as florentine cookies are thin cookies of French origin. They are very thin and crispy. They are basically caramel cookies with ground almonds, and they are very tasty. These, more than cookies, are almost crisps.
They are a classic recipe, and a very famous type of cookie. They end up having a really unique texture. To form the cookies, you make them into small balls and then they expand a lot while baking in the oven. And in fact many times, small holes form in the cookies themselves, also while baking.
At the end, these cookies can be eaten like this, or they can be made as a sandwich with a filling, a thin layer of nutella. You spread one of the cookies with nutella on the inside, and then place another cookie on top and you’re done! It’s a combination that tastes great.
I also like them with some vanilla ice cream, because the almond flavor goes perfectly with some vanilla, especially if it has a soft texture like that of ice cream.
The recipe calls for finely ground almonds. Do not mistake it for almond flour. Almond flour is powdered almonds, while ground almonds have a coarser texture than almond flour. And we need this coarser texture for these cookies.
When placing the cookies on the baking sheet, use baking paper underneath to prevent the cookies from sticking, since they end up being really thin.
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 C (3.95 oz) (112 gr) unsalted butter
- 3/4 C (5.30 oz) (150 gr) brown sugar
- 2 tbsp (1 fl oz) (30 ml) honey
- 1/4 tsp (0.04 oz) (1.2 gr) salt
- 1 tsp (0.17 fl oz) (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp (0.85 oz) (24 gr) all purpouse flour
- 1 C (4.45 oz) (126 gr) finely chopped almonds (not almond flour)
- 1/2 C (5.12 oz) (145 gr) nutella, for filling the cookies (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 356º F (180° C). Line two or three large baking trays with parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan, place the butter with the sugar, honey and salt. Bring the pan to medium heat and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until the mixture boils.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla extract with the flour and the ground almonds. Mix with the same spatula until all the ingredients are perfectly integrated and a soft dough is formed. Let the dough sit for 10 minutes until it begins to thicken and is cool enough to handle.
- Once the dough is cooler, form balls of 2 teaspoons of dough or 15 grams with your hands to get a total of approximately 32 balls. Place the balls on the baking trays, at least 7 cm apart from each other as they expand a lot during baking. We bake 5 cookies per tray.
- Bake the cookies at 356º f (180° C) in pairs on two trays for 10-12 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through baking. The cookies will be ready when they are very golden brown, and they have spread a lot and have stopped bubbling.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 15 minutes on the same trays so they don’t break. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool down completely.
- The cookies can be eaten as they are or filled with nutella to make sandwiches. To do this, spread a little nutella on the flat side of one cookie with a spoon. Place a second cookie on top with the flat side down and press very gently to seal and form the sandwich. Repeat the same process to form the remaining cookies.
