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.

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(c) Paul Curran, CEO of Cuzcom Internet Publishing Group and webmaster at Gifts-for-Christmas.com, bringing you recipes and unique gifts for christmas including their online home collectibles and russian gifts stores.

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