And so the holiday baking continues the whole week leading up to Christmas, thanks to my children. These Florentine orange-almond lace cookies are the cookie of the day. Crispy, dainty, and not overly sweet, these cookies make their appearance at my house without fail every year.
The list of ingredients is very short: butter, almonds, sugar, one egg, orange zest and just a tablespoon of flour to bind everything together. I was not at home when these cookies were made, but when I returned, I found two zested clementines sitting on the counter next to several trays of just-baked cookies. Apparently, we had run out of oranges! This substitute worked well and the cookies were very aromatic; although I know firsthand what a pain it is to zest tiny clementines, so I would still recommend using an orange if you have it.
These Florentine orange-almond lace cookies are my daughter’s favorite Christmas cookie. We enjoyed these delicate, citrusy treats with some steamy bergamot tea this afternoon and wondered, “Why don’t we make them all year ’round?”. They really are perfect for any season. Stay tuned, friends, for tomorrow’s holiday treat of the day!
- 10 TBSP. unsalted butter
- 1½ cups finely chopped almonds
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 TBSP. All-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. orange zest
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the almonds in a mini food processor and pulse several times until finely chopped.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Remove from heat. Add the chopped almonds, sugar, flour, orange zest and salt. Mix well and then stir in the beaten egg.
- Drop batter by the teaspoon onto prepared baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart (cookies will spread a lot).
- Bake cookies until lacey and golden brown, about 12-15 minutes, depending on size. Gently slide parchment paper with cookies onto rack and cool completely. With an off-set spatula, transfer cookies to paper towels. Repeat with remaining batter, wiping off excess butter from the parchment paper before reusing it for the next batch.
Dear Marilena,
I baked these cookies today and they came fantastic. I fixed 1/2 batch, I cut all the ingredients in half, however they still came delicious. Next time I will fix a full batch.
I was under the impression this was a recipe from Spain but I think I was wrong. Thank you very much!
That’s wonderful Maria, I am so glad to know you made these cookies and that you liked them so much! They are such a favorite in our house!
Hi would there be an issue using pistachio instead of almond?
Hi Cody,
I have never tried them with pistachio nuts, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. I would try making half a batch as a test:)