I’m sharing an absolutely easy flourless, gluten-free, no oil or butter almond and seeds florentines that are thin, crispy with a hint of orange. They are perfect for a Chinese New Year celebration or any holiday baking. You don’t need florentines powder or bienneta powder for this recipe.
Florentine cookies are popular Chinese New Year cookies. Some of my friends who live in Singapore and Malaysia, will get a premix Florentine powder or Bienneta powder (you need neither one for this recipe) to make florentines cookies or bars. What is florentine powder? By looking at the ingredient list on the package it seems like it’s a mixture of dried glucose, sugar, honey powder, fat, butter, and maltodextrin. It’s not easy to find florentine powder, which prompted me to find easier florentine cookie recipe and I saw this Ottolenghi:The Cookbook (Ten Speed) crispy almond orange florentines and I decided to try it out with some modifications.
The recipe rundown
Taste: They are nutty and sweet with hint of orange (and chocolate if you using)
Texture: Crispy
Pros: Incredibly easy and you don’t need special florentine mix/powder. You can also use nuts and seeds of your choice too
Cons: It’s so hard not to finish the entire tray on my own!!!
How to make these super easy and crispy almond florentines without florentine powder
1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Spread the almonds and seeds on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside
2. Mix egg white with icing sugar with a fork until the egg whites are kinda frothy
3. Add the rest of the ingredients
4. Stir to combine everything and make sure the egg white mixture coats the nuts and seeds
If you enjoy something with nuts and seeds, you have to try this super easy almond and seeds florentine with a nice hint of orange. They are so easy to make, thin, and crispy.
5. Use a spoon to scoop up the mixture on a prepared pan and then use the back of the spoon to spread it thin without any gaps, about 3-inch in diameter. Repeat with the rest of the mixture
6. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Check the bottom of the florentine, if they are not browned yet, bake a bit longer
7. They appear to be soft out from the oven. Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to let them cool down completely. They will be crispy once cooled down
8. Store them in an air-tight container and they can stay crispy for 5 days (it was about a week for me)
Florentines don’t stay crispy and how to fix it
This recipe yields very crispy almond florentines that stays crispy for days or weeks. If they aren’t, there could be few possibilities:
1. Make sure you spread the mixture thin enough
2. It could be humidity issue where you are. You can simply recrisp them in the oven at 350 F for 10-15 minutes
3. You may need to bake longer than what I did. After baking, turn off the oven, do not open the door and let them stay in there for 30 minutes to 1 hour
Did you make this flourless almond florentines recipe?
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Easy Flourless Almond Florentine
Ingredients
- 30 gr egg white from 1 large egg (about 57 grams with shell)
- 50 gr confectioners' sugar about 1/3 cup
- 60 gr sliced almonds about 3/4 cup
- 70 gr pepita seeds about 1 cup
- 10 gr black sesame seeds 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp, or you can use mixture of black and white sesame seeds
- ¼ tsp salt
- zest of half large orange or 1/2 tsp orange extract
- Cooking oil for brushing
Optional:
- 50 gr semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Toast the nuts and seeds (optional, but adds extra flavor):
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Spread the almonds and seeds on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside
- Lower the oven temperature to 300 F (150 C). Line the baking sheet with a parchment paper and lightly brush with a bit of oil to prevent sticking
Prepare the "batter":
- Mix egg white with icing sugar with a fork until the egg whites are kinda frothy. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine everything. Make sure they are really well combined and the egg white mixture coats all the nuts and seeds
Baking:
- Use a spoon to scoop up the mixture on a prepared pan and then use the back of the spoon to spread it thin without any gaps, about 3-inch in diameter. Repeat with the rest of the mixture
- Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown. Check the bottom of the florentine, it they are not browned yet, bake a bit longer
- They appear to be soft out from the oven. Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to let them cool down completely. They will be crispy once cooled down
If you want to dip in or spread with chocolate (optional):
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 20-30 seconds and then stir until smooth. Dip half of the crispy florentine in the chocolate and place on a cooling rack to let the chocolate sets. You can also use a spoon to spread some chocolate on top of the florentine crisps and let the chocolate sets at room temperature
Storing:
- Store them in an air-tight container and they can stay crispy for 5 days (it was about a week for me)
12 comments
I’ve made this Florentine recipe at least 10 times with different nut combinations. LOVE IT so much. Thank you
Hi Christine, wow…I’m glad the recipe works out for you! It’s one of my favorite recipes too because it’s pretty easy to put together 🙂
Can i replace the icing sugar with honey or golden syrup?
Hi Regina, you can try using half of the amount called for in the recipe. I’ve never tried it myself, but it should be okay I think.
Actually I tried this recipe with 80% and 90% sugar. 90% is as low as I would go. Any less and you cannot get it as crispy.
That’s good to know 🙂
Will try to make the florentine
Hi, I hope it turns out for you!
Hi, thanks for the recipe. When do you put the cooking oil?
Hi Lihui, the cooking oil is only to brush on the parchment paper to prevent sticking, you don’t need it in the recipe
Hi Marvellina, I made these and I left them out to cool for about 1+ hours after they’re cool enough to be handled. Even though these were really crisp right when they cool, they quickly became less crisp after I transferred them to a container. Could you let me know where I went wrong? Thank you! Taste wise, they were good.
Hi Mandy, you can try to bake them longer, add another 5-8 minutes or so. That will do the trick and crispy them up further.