Chocolate Florentine Cookies

A photo of these cookies stared at me whilst I waited in the checkout line at the grocery store. "We elegant chocolate-filled lace cookies," it said, "look like a Pepperidge Farm Brusels, but our crisp, buttery, homemade taste trumps them. Bake us so you can find how great we are for yourself. PLEASE!!"

Luckily, I had just enough wait time to flip through the book and find the name of the recipe. Then I could be cheap and google the recipe instead of buy the Nestle baking book whose cover it graced (sorry, Nestle, but I did give you page views to find the recipe). Nestle says use milk chocolate chips, but I say semi-sweet is better, based on my bias against milk chocolate.

What better New Year's resolution could there be than learning to make fancy-looking cookies that everyone will so enjoy? Maybe my photo will stare at you and say, "Do it!"? (It's not too hard; you just have to have the time and patience to make sandwiches.)


Chocolate Florentine Cookies
Nestle Very Best Baking

2/3 cup butter

2 cups quick oats

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup light or dark corn syrup

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375° F. Line baking sheets with foil.

Melt butter in medium saucepan; remove from heat. Stir in oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla extract and salt; mix well. Drop by level teaspoons, about 3 inches apart, onto foil-lined baking sheets. Spread thinly with rubber spatula.

Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets on wire racks. Peel foil from cookies.

Microwave morsels in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on medium-high (70%) power for 1 minute; Stir. Morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10 to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Spread thin layer of melted chocolate onto flat side of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies to make sandwiches.