These Florentine Cookie Bars combine all the wonderful flavors and textures of Florentine cookies with a buttery shortbread bar. It’s a great Christmas treat, and they are one of my 12 shipping-friendly food gift ideas for Christmas and beyond! 

If you love Florentine cookies, prepare to enjoy them in another form: cookie bars!

Florentine Bars - On a White Lace Plate with Almonds and Cherries

Florentines have always been one of my favorite cookies because, really, when there are crunchy almonds, flavors of orange, dried fruit and honey, it’s bound to be amazing. There’s so much flavor!

Traditional florentines are a little bit finicky to make (and especially to shape), so I thought, why not take all of the components and flavors of a florentine cookie, and layer it on buttery, rich shortbread?

It turned out fantastic.

Florentine Shortbread Bar Cookies on a Wooden Board

Most of the time, I use unsalted butter for my baking recipes so that I can control the salt, but shortbread is an exception (you’ll see the same in my Shortbread Cookies recipe).

For this recipe I’m using salted butter, and the reason is that I prefer not to have big granules of salt distributed throughout shortbread.

For things like Chocolate Chip Cookies or Peanut Butter Cookies, it’s great to have little pops of salt, but for a smooth, buttery shortbread experience, we’re going to use salted butter so the seasoning is evenly distributed.

How to Make It Step by Step:

To get started, place two sticks of salted butter and a 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl.

Butter and Sugar in a Bowl

Cream them together until fluffy, then add vanilla extract.

Creamed Butter and Sugar in Bowl with Vanilla

Mix in flour until it is distributed (the dough will look crumbly, don’t worry).

Crumbly Short Dough in Bowl

Despite its crumbly appearance, the dough should hold together when squished in your hand.

Hand Squeezed a clump of Dough Into One PIece

Press the shortbread into an 8×12 pan with your fingertips. (This recipe will also work in a 9×13 pan too.)

Shortbread Crust - Pressed into 9x13 Casserole Dish

Bake the shortbread in a 350 degrees F oven, and in the meantime, start the topping.

Combine salted butter, sugar, heavy cream and honey in a saucepan.

Combining Cream, Butter, and Sugar in Saucepan

Cook this mixture until it reaches 250 F.

Caramel Sauce Simmering in Saucepan

Add dried cherries, almonds, and orange zest.

Cherries and Almonds Added to Caramel Saucepan

Stir it all together and immediately spread it evenly on top of the shortbread.

Florentine Cookie Mixture Added to Shortbread Layer in Dish

Bake for another 20 minutes until the cherries are plump.

Fully Baked Cookie Bar Mixture in Dish

Let the Florentine cookie bars cool completely, then cut into squares and serve.

Florentine Bars on White Plates

Lavender Shortbread Cookies, Molasses Cookies, and Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are other favorites for Christmas.

And then there’s Cut Out Cookies if you want to do some decorating. Enjoy!

Florentine Bars On a White Lace Plate with Almonds and Cherries

Florentine Cookie Bars

Servings: 24
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
These Florentine Cookie Bars bring all the wonderful flavors of Florentine cookies to an easier shortbread bar form!
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Ingredients

For the shortbread base

  • 1 cup salted butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2.5 cups all-purpose flour

For the topping

  • 4 tablespoons salted butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 cup blanched sliced almonds
  • 1 cup dried cherries* chopped
  • zest of 1 orange

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350° F.
  • To make the shortbread base, place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together by whipping on medium-high speed for 60 seconds. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add the flour to the bowl and mix at medium speed until the flour is distributed, about 60 seconds. The dough will look crumbly, but should hold together when pressed with your fingers.
  • Press the shortbread dough into a 8×12 inch pan with your fingertips, then bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown on the edges. (You can also use a 9×13 pan, with slightly less baking time.)
  • While the shortbread bakes, make the topping. In a large saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, heavy cream and honey. Place over medium-high heat and cook it until it reaches 250° F on a candy thermometer. While cooking, do not stir the mixture, because this could cause crystallization. Once the mixture has reached the proper temperature, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the almonds, cherries and orange zest. Immediately spread this mixture evenly over the top of the shortbread.
  • Bake for 20 minutes (or slightly less time for a larger pan) until the cherries are plump. Let the pan cool completely, then cut into bars and serve!

Notes

*I used sour cherries that were sweetened

Nutrition

Calories: 231kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 86mg, Potassium: 60mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 510IU, Calcium: 27mg, Iron: 0.9mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Fifteen Spatulas

Post updated in December 2018. Originally posted December 2014.