Cinnamon Bun Vegan Florentine Cookies
Beautiful little lacy vegan cookies with a simple, striking spiral on top. These vegan Florentine cookies are light on the edges, almost dissolving in your mouth, and have a little bit of a chew in the middle. The sweet almond flavor is perfect with the cinnamon and cloves, making them an easy, fun, and lower-carb Christmas cookie option.
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Why We Make Christmas Cookies
Christmas cookies actually likely have their origins before Christmas existed. As the cold weather set in and the days became shorter, cookies were a method of preserving fruits, nuts, and other ingredients so they would remain edible. They also made a wonderful treat for sharing with friends and family during winter celebrations. As the year 1800 rolled around, American cookbook author Amelia Simmons published a recipe for Christmas Cookery. Not the most appetizing sounding food, Christmas Cookery started out hard and dry, but would soften slightly after a couple months in the cellar (cookies were used for preservation, after all). Over the next hundred years, cookies became less practical, but prettier and I would have to imagine better tasting. Decorative molds became fashionable, and the mainstream, more modern Christmas cookie came into existence.
Our current Christmas cookie culture is much more about gifting than it is about preservation. Baking cookies can be a wonderful bonding experience, especially for people with young ones about. After the warm smells of cinnamon and browning sugar spread cheer around the house, your cookies can be shared, gifted, or eaten on the spot. Just like back in the day, cookies can also stay good for a longer time, and can be on hand to be shared if friends or family come calling. There are many regional cookie traditions, but also many that are widely embraced. As a little aside, this recipe is our variation on the Florentine cookie. Despite the name, Florentines are generally thoguht not to have originated in Florence, Italy, but instead in France. They are, none the less, a Christmas classic.
The last reason we make cookies at Christmas really is the most important one- you have to have some on hand to leave out for Santa, along with a glass of oat milk, or risk a stocking full of coal.
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How to Make Vegan Florentine Cookies
Unlike most cookies that are primarily made up of flour, these cookies are mostly almonds. You can either start with blanched almonds, where the skins are already removed, or you can remove them yourself. Place your almonds in boiling water to loosen the skin, but only for a minute so the nuts don’t absorb any water. Then you can use your thumb and index finger to squeeze and rub the skins from the almonds. Transfer the almonds to a food processor and pulse until it’s fairly finely chopped. Don’t be tempted to start with almond flour, as it is too fine. The additional dry ingredients are a few tablespoons of flour and some cinnamon and cloves. Whisk them all together.
Next were going to combine the wet ingredients in a saucepan- vegan butter, sugar, and corn syrup. Get all melted and to a boil, and then combine the wet with the dry. It’s going to be hot, so be careful! Because of that, it’s important to let the dough cool down before handling. Once it is cool, we’re going to scoop small balls of dough and roll them until smooth between your palms. As Florentines cook, they spread out quite thin and will easily stick to the pan, so it’s really helpful if you can use a silicone mat to bake them on and leave a lot of space between each cookie. Work in batches and bake your cookies one tray at a time until all the batter is used up, and you have a couple dozen lacey, crunchy cookies.
The last step is to add that little bit of pretty decoration. Make a really simple glaze with powdered sugar, plant-based milk and a little cinnamon. Wait until the cookies are cool, and them simply pipe a rough spiral on top of each cookie for that cinnamon-bun look.
Cinnamon Bun Vegan Florentine Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. ground cloves
- Small pinch of salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp. vegan butter
- 2 tbsp. corn syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- 1-2 tbsp. plant-based milk
Instructions
- Start by prepping your almonds- if you are using pre-blanched almonds skip this step. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, and once boiling drop the almonds in. Boil for one minute, then remove from the heat and quickly cool in cold water. Rub the almonds between your index finger and thumb to remove the skins, then dry the nuts and discard the skins.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat and set aside.
- Place the dried almonds in a food processor, and process until they are finely chopped, almost to the point of being flour, but a little rougher. Add the flour, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and chopped almonds to a mixing bowl, and mix.
- In a saucepan, add the sugar, vegan butter and corn syrup. Let the sugar melt down, then bring to a boil. Boil for one minute, and then remove form the heat. Add the vanilla extract, and mix in. Pour the wet mixture onto the dry, and stir until well mixed. Wait until the dough is cool before handling.
- Florentines take a lot of space on the tray, so you’ll have to work in batches. Scoop out about ½ tbsp. of dough. Roll it into a ball and then place it onto the baking sheet, leaving about 6 inches between cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool until they are no longer soft. Transfer to a cooling rack, and repeat step 5 until all the dough is used.
- Let the cookies cool completely before icing. To make the glaze, add the powdered sugar and cinnamon to a bowl. Whisk. Next add the plant-based milk, starting with 1 tablespoon and drizzling the rest in slowly until it’s a smooth and pipeable, but not runny. Place the icing in a piping bag or small ziplock, cut a small bit of the tip off, and make a spiral in glaze on each cookie. Wait until the glaze has hardened, and enjoy! Store extras in an air-tight container on the counter.
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