The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap: Dark Chocolate Almond Florentine Cookies

December 15, 2014 by 16 Comments

Dark Chocolate Almond Florentine Cookies | Once Upon a Recipe

Well, hellllllllooo friends!

Insert apologies about my lack of posts lately. Hoping to change that in the coming weeks!

We have much more important things to talk about right now. Cookies, obvi. This year marked my second time participating in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, hosted by two lovely ladies, The Little Kitchen and Love & Olive Oil. In case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s a quickie on the details: It’s a worldwide food blogger cookie swap! Basically, you sign up, receive the addresses of three other bloggers, and then you send each blogger a dozen homemade cookies. And then you wait to receive three dozen delicious cookies from those that received your name. Oh, and the swap raises money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer! Sweet treats and supporting a good cause = so many wins.

Dark Chocolate Almond Florentine Cookies | Once Upon a Recipe

My contribution to this year’s swap was the magnificent wafer-thin, chocolate-filled cookies you see above. They taste very similar to Almond Roca with their toffee-like flavour and addictive crunch. Each wafer is incredibly thin and delicate, but once sandwiched together around a layer of dark chocolate, these cookies become a little bit more sturdy (and clearly more delicious). I dare you to make a batch and not eat more than five one.

Dark Chocolate Almond Florentine Cookies | Once Upon a Recipe

Next year, be sure to participate in the swap! Check the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap website for more details. Happy holiday baking! See you again real soon.

Dark Chocolate Almond Florentine Cookies | Once Upon a Recipe

Dark Chocolate Almond Florentine Cookies (recipe from Bakerita)

These cookies are incredibly addictive with their satisfying crunch and chocolate centers. Their flavour is similar to that of almond roca. A batch will make about 36 cookies (18 sandwiches). They take a little time to make, but are completely worth the effort. The cookies keep well in an airtight container in the freezer.

1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
3 TBSP. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 TBSP. heavy cream
2 TBSP. light corn syrup
5 TBSP. unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the almonds into a large bowl with the flour and salt and stir. Combine the sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a rolling boil and the sugar is dissolved. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Add the saucepan mixture to the almond mixture and stir to combine. Place in the refrigerator to cool, about 30 minutes.

Scoop rounded teaspoons of batter and roll into (tiny!) balls. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 3 to 4 inches between each cookie since they spread a lot. I found it best to only bake six cookies at a time; otherwise they just ran into each other.

Bake 1 pan at a time, until the cookies are thin and an even golden brown colour, about 10-12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely. One other tip: If your cookies are misshapen when you take them out of the oven, use a metal spatula to gently reshape them (as they will be very malleable when they come out of the oven).

Melt the chocolate in a saucepan over low heat. Pair up cookies of equal size. Spread chocolate onto one cookie (be gentle!) and press carefully together with another cookie. Repeat with remaining cookie pairs. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container.

Dark Chocolate Almond Florentine Cookies | Once Upon a Recipe

Looking for more amazing cookie recipes? Check out the lovely cookies I received from Sarah at Feasts For All Seasons (Chai Tea Shortbread) and Meg at Sweet Twist of Blogging (Mint Oreo Christmas Trees). Also be sure to check out the bloggers that I had the pleasure of sending these cookies to: Kristy at She Eats, Tina at What Taste, and Alicia at Bird House Diaries. xo

Filed Under: Holidays, Sweet Treats Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Brown Butter Blondies with Macadamia Nuts, Caramel, and Dark Chocolate

February 3, 2014 by 40 Comments

Brown Butter Blondies with Macadamia Nuts, Caramel, and Dark Chocolate | Once Upon a Recipe

Alright alright, so I’ve been real well-behaved over the past month, sharing healthy recipes and all that jazz. But it’s time to get back to the good stuff. The sweet, buttery, chocolate-laden stuff.

And I’m not sure that there are words for these little squares of delight. At least, no words that will do them justice.

Brown Butter Blondies with Macadamia Nuts, Caramel, and Dark Chocolate | Once Upon a Recipe

Every so often, I try to do a clean-out of my cupboard. I always seem to have half-bags of a variety of chocolate, nuts, and other baking mix-ins hanging around. I had leftover dark chocolate and caramel left over from making my salted caramel bark over the holidays. I was very tempted to make another batch of the bark, but the previous batch had been a little too hard to resist, even from the depths of my freezer. I tend to lack willpower around frozen chocolate, what can I say?

Brown Butter Blondies with Macadamia Nuts, Caramel, and Dark Chocolate | Once Upon a Recipe

Therefore, I was on the hunt for a new recipe. When I came across Deb’s recipe for blondies and realized that I’d never made blondies before, it was a no-brainer. The base recipe is great, and provides lots of room for switching up the flavors and mix-ins.

Brown Butter Blondies with Macadamia Nuts, Caramel, and Dark Chocolate | Once Upon a Recipe

Brown Butter Blondies with Macadamia Nuts, Caramel, and Dark Chocolate | Once Upon a Recipe

Friends, I have not been this excited about a cookie in a while. But these little things are AMAZING. First of all, we’ve got brown butter, which just seems to make everything a little bit better. Then we add in some toasted macadamia nuts for a little buttery crunch, chunks of caramel for a little chew, and some dark chocolate, just because. Oh, and then we add a sprinkle of coarse sea salt on top, just because I’m obsessed with that sweet/salty combo. #cantstopwontstop

Brown Butter Blondies with Macadamia Nuts, Caramel, and Dark Chocolate | Once Upon a Recipe

Brown Butter Blondies with Macadamia Nuts, Caramel, and Dark Chocolate | Once Upon a Recipe

It’s true what they say, blondies have more fun! But don’t take my word for it!

Brown Butter Blondies with Macadamia Nuts, Caramel, and Dark Chocolate (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

These blondies are so adaptable to whatever mix-ins you’ve got on hand. Basically, you need one cup of mix-ins, so change it up and try out different combinations. Please note that I’ve also added the metric measurements for some of the ingredients. I have been using my kitchen scale more often in baking, simply because I find that it helps me to produce more consistent results. I recommend using a scale if you have one. 

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter

1 cup (238 grams) dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Pinch of sea salt

1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour

1/3 cup toasted macadamia nuts, chopped

1/3 cup caramel pieces (I used 8 Kraft caramels, chopped)

1/3 cup dark chocolate, chopped

Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8 x 8 pan with non-stick spray.

Toast your macadamia nuts – spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for about 5 minutes. Check frequently to ensure they don’t burn.

Brown your butter! Combine brown butter and brown sugar and beat together. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the sea salt, flour, and mix-ins. Press the cookie dough into the pan. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt (I used about half a teaspoon). Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to brown and the center is set. Do not overbake! Allow the blondies to cool in the pan, then slice into squares. Nosh!

Brown Butter Blondies with Macadamia Nuts, Caramel, and Dark Chocolate | Once Upon a Recipe

And if you want to be downright gluttonous, do what I did, and add a little drizzle of salted caramel. This is living, friends!

Filed Under: Sweet Treats Tagged With: , , , , ,

I Like Cookies | Chewy Almond Butter Oatmeal & Dark Chocolate Cookies

February 1, 2013 by 55 Comments

Almond Butter Oatmeal and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies | Once Upon a Recipe

I’m a bit of a cookie snob. I mean, not all cookies are created equal. You know?

For me, a good cookie has three requirements. First of all, and most importantly, a good cookie has to be chewy. Not hard, not cake-y, not crispy, but chewy. Secondly, I like cookies that have some heft. Don’t get me wrong, a good buttery chocolate chip cookie can easily win my heart. But most often, I love a cookie that’s got substance – oatmeal, coconut, raisins, chocolate – you know, good mix-ins! And finally, I really prefer cookies that are thick as opposed to thin. Thickness matters.

Almond Butter Oatmeal and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies | Once Upon a Recipe

We’re still talking about cookies. Don’t get distracted!

And if the cookies can maybe possibly be considered healthy…even better. Now, I’m going to use the term “healthy” quite loosely here. These cookies do have plenty of sugar. BUT! They are filled with many good-for-you ingredients like oats, flax, almond butter, coconut oil, and dark chocolate. If you use gluten-free oats, you can call these gluten-free. And if you use vegan chocolate (most good-quality dark chocolate is considered vegan), then they become vegan too. Which means we can share these cookies with all of our gluten-free and vegan friends! Bonus!

Almond Butter Oatmeal and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies | Once Upon a Recipe

This is really good news for me because when I make a batch of cookies this good, I need to get them out of my house, like, immediately. Otherwise I will eat more than the daily recommended intake of cookies. Unless that number is somewhere in the double digits. In that case, I’m doing fine.

Almond Butter Oatmeal and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies | Once Upon a Recipe

These cookies are so darn chewy and so freaking good. Seriously. But please don’t take my word for it. Mix up a batch for yourself and then invite me over to help you eat them. I’m real considerate like that.

Almond Butter Oatmeal and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies | Once Upon a Recipe

Chewy Almond Butter Oatmeal & Dark Chocolate Cookies (adapted from Eat Live Run)

You have the option of making these cookies gluten-free, if desired. Just use gluten-free oats! If you want to make them vegan-friendly, just be sure to use vegan chocolate. Makes about 30 cookies. 

1/4 cup coconut oil, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. salt

3 1/2 cups regular oats (or gluten-free, if desired)

1 cup dark chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate)

1 cup almond butter

2 TBSP. ground flax mixed with 6 TBSP. warm water (aka. a flax “egg”)

2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare your cookie sheet(s) by lining them with a Silpat or parchment paper.

Cream together the coconut oil, almond butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until well blended. Add the vanilla and ground flax + water mixture. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine the oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to the wet ingredients along with the dark chocolate chips. Mix until just combined.

Roll the dough into small balls (golf ball size) and place three inches apart on the cookie sheets (12 per sheet). Do not flatten the dough balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes until puffy and just barely beginning to brown around the edges. Let cool for 5-10 minutes (or until set) on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container with wax paper between each layer. I imagine these would freeze well too, but they were eaten too quickly for me to need to do such a thing!

Almond Butter Oatmeal and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies | Once Upon a Recipe

Have a great weekend friends!
Filed Under: Sweet Treats Tagged With: , , , , ,