JENNY’S FLORENTINES
Christmas is nearly here, and I have been craving something different to eat. A friend and I were having coffee at the beach, and we shared some Florentines. Despite my intolerance to milk products, I thought I would try one. It was nice to enjoy something intensely sweet with a friend. I tasted the sweet treat but stopped at eating the entire biscuit because its ingredients could give me a tummy ache.
Afterward I thought, perhaps I could create a healthier, dairy free, gluten free alternative. I searched the internet and came across a recipe for vegan Florentines at Lazy Cat Kitchen (https://www.lazycatkitchen.com/vegan-florentines/) which I adapted to suit my diet and reduce the glycaemic index.
My recipe contains pecans and walnuts and I have included some seeds in the mix. I used a vegan dark chocolate with less sugar. They are really yummy!
Here is my version of healthier Florentines. I hope you enjoy them, too.
Ingredients:
Method:
Put the pecans and walnuts in a food processor and process until they are the size of large crumbs. Then add them to the remaining dry ingredients (except the chocolate). Stir until the ingredients are mixed evenly.
In a saucepan, place the vanilla extract, maple syrup and coconut oil on a low heat. Heat the ingredients until small bubbles rise to the surface. Stir to ensure the oil is mixed through.
Add the dry ingredients to the saucepan. Mix until all the dry ingredients are thoroughly covered in the maple syrup caramel.
Using patty pans spoon the mixture into the cups (I use a soup spoon for this) and press the ingredients down firmly.
Place in a 180-degree oven and cook for 12 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 160 degrees and cook for a further 10 minutes. Once cooked, remove the biscuits from the oven. When the biscuits have cooled, remove them from the patty pans.
Warm some water in a saucepan on the stove, then place a metal dish containing the chocolate pieces on top of the saucepan. Stir the chocolate until it has melted. Using a spatula, coat the bottom of the biscuits with the melted chocolate. Then, place them aside to set.
Makes 20 biscuits.
