Lace Cookies (Florentine Cookies)

If you asked the average person to name their five favorite cookies, lace cookies (a.k.a. Florentine cookies), wouldn't make it on to many of those lists. That's kind of surprising for several reasons: First of all, they'reincredibly simple to prepare. Also, the dough only takes minutes to make. Finally, they are very adaptable — the same technique works beautifully no matter which nuts or type of chocolate you use.

Maybe it's the fact that these are closer to a candy than a cookie, but whatever the reason, they are very much underrated. You can also add "durable" to their list of adjectives, which is why they make for such a great edible gift.

Please note: The baking time given here is only a rough estimate. Depending on the particulars of your pan, oven, and portion size, your actual time might be a few minutes off either way. So forget about time and go by appearance instead. These should be baked until golden brown with a slightly darker golden brown ring around the outside.

Once they're cool and crisp, they are ready to be spread and sandwiched with chocolate. Or, if you're one of these people who are only able to eat one cookie at a time, you can drizzle the chocolate over the tops instead. Speaking of cool and crisp, while these are still warm, you can roll or bend them into whatever shapes you want. A scoop of vanilla ice cream is nice, but imagine how much nicer it would be served in an edible lace cookie cup? So, whether you make these as shown or bend them to you will, I really do hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

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