If It Ain’t Broke.

Florentines packaged up and ready to go.

I have a confession to make. I am one of those mums. Yes, the mums that make and bake gifts for their kids’ teachers. But please don’t think for a second that it is because I want to show off or compete with other parents: it’s just what I do. I make and bake for everyone and anyone that I feel gratitude or friendship or love for. And I always feel an enormous debt to my children’s teachers and to all the other support staff at their school because I think they do a wonderful job teaching, caring for, guiding, supporting and encouraging my three, very individual, offspring.

Maybe the teachers would prefer cash in hand, or a shopping voucher, but I can’t bring myself to do that. Perhaps it is selfish of me to indulge in my own passion when it should really be about what they would like. But I enjoy planning, baking and packaging these gifts, and my kids have come to expect it too.

Last year, I was very short of time and had so many individual teachers in the school to thank, I opted for a large Gingerbread Bundt Cake to be shared in the staffroom.

This year, I could scale it back down again to individual gifts, and I decided to fall back on a festive treat that I love and a recipe that I know works very well: Florentines.

These are a great option for Christmas gifts: they are pretty straightforward to make; they look festive with dried cranberries and pistachios jumbled through them; and they have a pretty good shelf life. I use a recipe created by my friend, Dor, from La Difference. She is a very talented cook and baker and is always coming up with new recipes. More importantly, she is always willing to share them on Facebook and her blog. She is a very generous soul.

Normally, I like to fiddle about with recipes once I have tried them once, but with this one, it really needs no tweaking. Actually, now that I think about it, I did once make them with dark chocolate, and they just weren’t as nice, and I’m not even a big white chocolate fan. As they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This combination of fruit, nuts and white chocolate just simply works.

So, please swing by Dor’s blog or Facebook page. There is always something new, either sweet or savoury, to tempt you into the kitchen.

However you decide to say thank you to people at Christmas time, I hope it brings you as much joy and pleasure as baking does me.

Dor’s Facebook page:

Dor’s Blog:

Florentine Recipe: