Florentine biscuits

Step 1

To make the biscuits, put the butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until creamy. Add the flour and cinnamon, and combine with a spatula to make a soft dough. Form into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 1 hr.

Step 2

In a saucepan, melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup and salt. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour, then stir in the cherries and almonds. Set aside to cool and firm up a little. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a baking sheet with parchment.

Step 3

Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Using a 6cm fluted cookie cutter, stamp out as many circles as you can, then scrunch up the trimmings, re -roll and stamp out some more. Transfer to the baking sheet, and spoon some of the Florentine mixture onto each biscuit until it’s all used up. Bake on the middle shelf for 12-15 mins until the biscuits are golden and the topping has melted. Leave to cool on the sheet for at least 15 mins.

Step 4

While the biscuits cool, melt the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of gently simmering water, or in short bursts in the microwave. Stir every 30 secs or so to ensure it doesn’t burn. Dip each biscuit about a third of the way into the chocolate, then return to the sheet to set. You may need to spoon the chocolate over the final few. Will keep for up to four days in a sealed container.