Opinion Post – Week 5 # RomBakeOff

Welcome to Week 5 of the #RomBakeOff, with Mary’s Florentines as the challenge. Links to the previous weeks can be found at the end of this post. It is a relatively simple recipe, probably the easiest (for me) of the bunch but when I looked at the ingredients I had to shake my head. In addition to containing flour, I already knew I would have to substitute my Gluten Free blend, it also contained the two types of nuts I am very allergic to. I couldn’t leave out the nuts because they play an integral role in the cookie structure and texture so I had to find a substitute. I thought about the flavor combinations – orange, cherry or cranberry, and decided pumpkin seeds would work nicely.

After carefully measuring out all of my ingredients I used my spice blender to finely chop the pumpkin seeds in a few batches and then I put my knife skills to work on the candied orange peel and dried cranberries. Then it was time to make the dough. After melting the butter, sugar, and very British Golden Syrup until I couldn’t feel sugar granules anymore I added the rest of the ingredients and finished up the dough.

Then I was time to portion them, very small portions. But they were supposed to massively spread so I didn’t want to get too enthusiastic. Of course I had to anxiously watch as they baked while I crossed my fingers and hoped for a good, crisp, lacy finished cookie.

After they cooked my sous chef and I both tasted one and decided they didn’t really need the chocolate. However, after talking with Ninja_Mom she convinced me to at least try some with chocolate. I have to say I managed to get chocolate just about everywhere including my kitchen counter and the hot pad I placed the warm chocolate on. After letting it cool a bit I actually managed to get some nice looking ripples. And I have to admit. Ninja_Mom was right. The chocolate was a lovely touch and it cut some of the sweetness of the cookies.

I will be making these again!

My fellow bakers had some lovely successes this week too. If you want to see more of our adventures check out the hashtag #RomBakeOff on Twitter and Instagram. You can also look at my previous bakes at the following links.

Week 1: Mini Victoria Sponges
Week 2: Tartes au Citron
Week 3: Tea Time Scones
Week 4: Cherry Cake