Florentines with Vanilla Buttercream

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (175℃).

Mix the ingredients for the caramel in a small saucepan. Gently heat the mixture until the butter and sugar are melted. Mix in the nuts and remove from heat.

Scoop about a teaspoon of the mixture into two 12-count non-stick muffin pans (only fill 18 of the holes).

Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven.. Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Gently remove the cookies from the pan. I used a knife to get them out. Let the cookies cool completely.

For the buttercream:

Mix all the ingredients in a heat safe bowl or in the top of your double boiler. Heat some water in the bottom of the double boiler and bring it to a simmer (if you don’t have a double boiler use any saucepan that the bowl fits over, but make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl). Whip the buttercream until thick and fluffy over the simmering water. It takes some time to get the buttercream nice and fluffy.

Pipe the buttercream on the bottom of half of the cookies. Top each with another cookie, bottom side down, pressing lightly to adhere. Serve with a nice cup of tea or coffee. Enjoy!