Florentine Cookies for Christmas

Here we are again:  Christmas cookie season!  I've already made a batch of sugar cookies which my four-year-old liberally sprinkled with red and green sugar.  Today we made milk chocolate florentines. There isn't anything inherently Christmas-y about them.  I just love them and since I generally only bake cookies once a year, they've become Christmas cookies for me.  

I've actually posted this recipe once before.  However since then, I've amended it slightly. So, I am actually re-posting it now.  Hopefully, I'll be trying another cookie recipe this week.  If it's at all successful, I'll share that one too!

Milk Chocolate Florentine Cookies
(makes about 3 dozen sandwich cookies)

2/3 cup butter

2 cups quick oats
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon. vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 oz (3/4 cup) milk chocolate morsels

-- Preheat oven to 375F.  Line baking sheets with foil, parchment or silpat.

-- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and remove from heat when melted.

-- Stir in oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt.  Mix well.

-- Drop by level teaspoons, about 3 inches apart, onto prepared baking sheets. 

-- Spread thinly with rubber spatula. 

-- Bake 6-8 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.

-- Cool completely on baking sheets.

-- Remove cookies (if using foil, peel cookies from foil) and place on wire racks.

-- Microwave morsels in medium, microwave-safe bowl on medium-high (70%) power for 1 minute.  Stir.
-- Microwave at additional 10-20 second intervals, stirring until smooth. 

-- Spread thin layer of melted chocolate onto flat side of half the cookies.  Top with remaining cookies. 

I love these cookies because you can let them sit in a cookie tin or on a covered plate on your counter, and the cookie remains soft and kind of chewy.  Or you can chill them in the refrigerator and the chocolate firms a little and gives the cookie a somewhat different texture.   Either way, they are always the first cookies to go in my house.