We Should Cocoa: Apricot Chilli Florentines

Did you see all the beautiful party food for We Should Cocoa's 1st birthday? If you haven't, click here and see all the amazing creations.

This months We Should Cocoa is hosted by Choclette at Chocolate Log Blog and the ingredient of choice is chilli. You can see how to enter and view the rules here.

I had previously used chilli in a We Should Cocoa entry. I made white chocolate chilli blondies for the leftover challenge and they didn't seem to work well for me so I wanted to hit the darker end of the spectrum for this entry.

I have been testing out recipes for Christmas and these are my current favourite. Batches and batches of florentines have been coming out the kitchen with different nuts and fruit in it. The red chilli in these gives them a little kick and makes them look especially festive!

Makes between 10-15 dependant on size

Ingredients
55gr butter
80gr caster sugar
30gr plain flour
30gr flaked almonds
50gr chopped nuts
50gr dried apricots
1/2 small medium red chilli, de-seeded and chopped finely

100gr dark chocolate (at least 70%)


Method
1, Preheat your oven to 160o/c and line two baking sheets with baking sheets. I use Teflon baking sheets but silicone ones would be just as good.
2, In a small saucepan, melt the butter and sugar together and bring to a light simmer.
3, Stir in the flour until well combined and stir in the rest of the ingredients until they are evenly coated.
4, Spoon teaspoons onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving gaps of about an inch apart.
5, Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown and then remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheets.
6, When they are completely cold, melt the dark chocolate and paint thickly over the back, flat side of them. Leave to set slightly before dragging a fork through the chocolate to create waves.
7, Store in an airtight container.
8, Alternatively you can bake the florentine mixture in shaped silicone moulds.