Florentines are sticky, sweet cookies made with candied fruits, nuts, flour, and butter set in a caramel syrup base. Florentine cookies are usually drizzled or dipped in melted chocolate. The original Florentine cookies were allegedly developed in paris, in honor of the visiting Medici family of Florence, Italy. http://www.lesproduitsduterroir.com/index.asp?ID=361&IDF=481 Florentines can be eaten as a dessert or snack accompanied with any hot or cold drinks and they are usually served at Christmas and New Year celebrations.

There is also a Swedish cookie called a Florentine Pogen, that is similar to a Florentine cookie, but is made without the candied fruit. The Swedish Florentine Pogen is a toffee wafer dipped in chocolate, that sometimes contains ground hazelnuts.http://lukpac.org/~handmade/patio/misc/pogen.html

Florentine cookie recipes can be prepared in many ways, adding and substituting ingredients to customize the cookie.

Here are some recipe variations of how to make Florentine cookies:

• Florentine bar cookies
• Milk Chocolate Florentine cookies
• Pecan Florentine
• Florentine Chocolate Profiterole
• Florentine with Almonds
• Florentine Pogens
• Florentine with quick oats
• Florentine cookies (cake style)

Ingredients that are occasionally added are nuts, oats, light or dark corn syrup, spices like allspice and nutmeg, honey, vanilla extract and cocoa. Different recipes of Florentine cookies may have the cookies topped or coated in melted chocolate, cooled, then cut as desired.