Florentine Lace Cookies

Florentine Lace were always one of my favorite cookies from the Italian bakeries. I never knew what they were made of, other than that they had chocolate in the middle, they were just this mystery cookie that one could never make at home.

Turns out they're oatmeal and sugar, basically. And really quite easy to make. I've seen a bunch of variations on this cookie including ones that include nuts and candied citrus, but I like the simple oats-suspended-in-sugar cookie. You can eat them as is, or sandwich two together with some melted chocolate in the middle. For these, I used half white and half semi sweet chocolate (not in the same cookie! Though that would be kind of cool). The white chocolate was from http://www.veganstore.com/ -- which, if you've not ordered from them before but you need some speciality items, I'd highly recommend them. They ship fast and they've got great customer service. One of my bags of white chips I'd ordered had done some sort of mail-splosion sprinkling little white bits among my other items, and they offered a refund, a store credit, or a replacement. Nice people. Definitely buy from them.

Florentine Lace Cookies

6 tbsp of margarine, melted

2 cups quick oats (must be quick!!)

1 cup white sugar

2/3 cup flour

1/4 cup corn syrup (probably could use any sort of sugar syrup here, but I've only tried with corn)

1/4 cup rice milk (soy milk, oat milk, whatever)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp of salt

2 cups chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix the oats, sugar, flour, and salt together. Make a well in the center and add the liquid ingredients. Fold together until everything is a big sticky mess.

3. Line your baking trays with aluminum foil or silpat sheets. Roll heaping 1 teaspoonfulls of dough into balls, then flatten into discs with damp fingers. These will spread a LOT! Leave at least 3 inches between cookies (I get 6 to a sheet).

4. Bake for 5-8 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely on the baking sheet, then carefully peel off.

5. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave or over a double boiler. Spread melted chocolate on the smooth side of the cookie, and stick another cookie (smooth side down) on top to make a sandwich. Squish them together a little so the chocolate oozes out the side and holes. Wait for them to set up, then eat!