I have several baking cookbooks from the early 90s, but Sweet Things by Suzanne Gibbs (Margaret Fulton’s daughter) is one of my favourites.
When I was leafing through it yesterday, this recipe for orangines caught my eye, mainly because of the tiny quantities of butter and sugar used. It’s quite simple to make, but I felt the cookies needed a little more flavour, so I’ve added a dark chocolate coating as well.
The finished cookies have a chewy texture, and the combination of candied peel, nuts and added chocolate makes them reminiscent of miniature florentines. I find them quite irresistible…
- 60g (¼ cup) unsalted butter
- 55g (¼ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
- 75g (½ cup) plain (AP) flour
- 50g (1/3 cup) blanched almonds, very finely chopped (I used slivered almonds, and chopped them by hand)
- 60g (1/3 cup) finely chopped candied orange peel
- 10ml (2 teaspoons) milk
- tempered dark chocolate, for coating (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/360F or 160C/320F with fan. Line a couple of baking trays with parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter in a mixing bowl, then beat in the sugar until well combined. Gently beat in the flour, almonds, peel and milk to form a soft dough.
3. Using a teaspoon measure, roll level teaspoonfuls of mixture into small balls and place them onto the lined trays. You really don’t need too much – the finished cookies are quite petite – and the dough will make between 30 – 35, if you measure carefully.
4. With a wet fork, flatten each ball to 4cm/1½” rounds and bake until lightly brown around the edges – approximately 8 – 10 minutes. Allow to rest on the trays for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
5. If desired, spread the base of each completely cooled cookie with melted and tempered chocolate, and place chocolate-side down onto a sheet of parchment to set. Store in an airtight container and serve with tea or coffee.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe
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