Hi Jennifer,

In the hope that I'm not too late, I'm going to send you my IMBB cookie recipe.  I have no place to link to, so this email is it.  I hope this was what I was supposed to do! 

I've been an avid reader of food blogs, and a wannabe blogger for over a year now, and just haven't managed to get it together to create my own -- yet.  And of course, each time an IMBB comes up, I want desperately to participate and feel that I can't since I don't have a blog nor even a website at this point. 

But when cookie swap became the theme, I knew I had to participate.  I'm an avid cookie baker -- the sort that makes at least 1000 cookies each holiday season in 10 or 12 different varieties.  Some are the recipes of wonderful bakers like Rose Levy Beranbaum.  Some are recipes that we've used in my family since I was little.  Others are actually recipes I've developed or modified myself, like the one I'm going to share with you.  The decision was tough -- should I share the Triple Ginger Gingersnaps?  or the Chocolate Espresso Eclipse?  The Apricot-Date-Walnut loaf? The Meltaway Pecan Puffs?  The World's Best Oatmeal Cookies? Each year, as the holidays approach, my friends and family members begin to ask anxiously about "the cookies".  Each person has their favorite, and one by one, they surreptitiously check in with me.  It usually goes kinda like this:   Ummmm, uhhh, Julie.  You ARE going to make the ginger cookies (or the pecan puffs, or the apricot loaf) again this year, aren't you?

You get the idea.  Choosing from among the possibilities was a tough call.  But that seems to be the unifying factor in almost all the IMBB stories:  What to make, what to make.  So many recipes, ideas, inspirations -- so little time.  In any case, I decided to send you my own personal favorite, Orange-Almond Florentines.  I'd always wanted to make my own florentines, and about a decade ago, took the plunge and adapted these from a recipe for cranberry pistachio florentines in Gourmet.  I love the crunchiness of slivered almonds contrasted with the aromatic orange zest and candied orange peel, all in a crisp yet slightly chewy, lacy cookie drizzled with bittersweet chocolate...enough talk.  Thanks for your patience,

Julie

Here's the recipe:

Orange-Almond Florentines

Makes about 3 dozen small cookies (in order to have enough for holiday platters and baskets and boxes I usually quadruple this recipe and it comes out fine -- it just takes a lot of time to bake all the batches, since you can't really do more than two cookie sheets at a time)

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tsp. finely grated orange zest
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted and cooled
1/2 cup chopped candied orange peel
2 oz. best quality bittersweet chocolate (i.e. Lindt 70%)

Preheat oven to 350F. Buffer 2 large, heavy cookie sheets. In a heavy, medium sized saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth - about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and whisk in the orange zest and the flour until completely smooth. Stir in the almonds and orange peel. Drop the mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets; allow 2 inches between each mound for the batter to spread. Bake them for about 12 minutes altogether, but turn cookie sheets from back to front and from top to bottom midway through for more even baking. The cookies should be evenly browned and lacy. Let cool for 30 seconds on the sheet, then work quickly with a thin plastic spatula to remove them to racks to cool. If the cookies harden on the sheet, return them to the oven for about 30 seconds to soften.

When they are completely cool, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave if you must, and use a fork to drizzle melted chocolate all over them in an artistic, playful Jackson Pollack-like manner. When the chocolate is set, store them in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper.