Christmas Recipes: Edible Gifts No.1 of 8 - Florentines

Christmas recipe makes: 12

Calories per biscuit: 170

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 8-10 minutes

Not suitable for freezing

Christmas recipe ingredients:

• cherries, 25 g (1 oz)
  


• almonds, flaked 40 g (1.5 oz)
  


• butter, unsalted 60 g (2.5 oz)
  


• sugar, caster 50 g (2 oz)
  


• cream, double 30 ml (2 tbsp)
  


• sunflower seeds, 25 g (1 oz)
  


• mixed peel, chopped 20 g (0.75 oz)
  


• sultanas, 20 g (0.75 oz)
  


• flour, plain white 15 g (0.5 oz)
  


• chocolate, dark plain pieces 125 g (4 oz)
  

Christmas recipe instructions:

1. Take the almonds and crush slightly. Prepare roughly cut pieces of cherries.
   
   


2. Prepare a solution of sugar in the butter and bring to the boil. Away from the heat, mix in flour, almonds, cherries, sultanas, mixed peel, sunflower seeds and cream.
   
   


3. Grease a sheet of baking paper and place heaped teaspoonful amounts of the mixture from step 2 onto it ensuring there is enough room for expansion during cooking.
   
   


4. Bake till the edges are golden brown. 180 degrees centigrade (gas mark 4, 350 F). About 7 minutes. Take out of the oven and use a plain large metal biscuit cutter to make rounds by pushing into the biscuits. Bake again until golden brown.
   
   


5. Cool for a couple of minutes before removing to a wire rack for complete cooling.
   
   


6. Repeat steps 3-5 for the remaining mixture from step 2.
   
   


7. Prepare melted chocolate by heating in a bowl over water at boiling point. Then take each biscuit and dip it into the choclate so all the edge is covered. Place on non-stick paper till cooled.