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1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and arrange the racks to divide the oven into thirds.
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2
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
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3
Place the almonds, flour, and zest in a medium bowl and toss with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to combine; set aside.
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4
Place the sugar, butter, corn syrup, cream, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir to combine, and bring to a boil.
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5
Remove the pan from the heat, add the almond mixture, and stir to combine.
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6
Drop heaping teaspoons of the batter at least 3 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets, 6 per sheet.
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7
Using a rubber spatula, pat the batter out into 2-inch-wide circles, spreading the almonds into an even single layer.
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8
Place both sheets in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.
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9
Rotate the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom and bake until the florentines are light golden brown around the edges, about 4 to 5 minutes more.
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10
Remove from the oven to wire racks and let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes.
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11
Carefully remove the florentines from the baking sheets with a thin metal spatula, transfer to the wire racks, and cool completely.
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12
Repeat with the remaining batteryou can reuse the baking sheets and parchment while still warm.
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13
Reserve the parchment sheets for drizzling the chocolate over the cooled cookies, if using.
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14
Place the cooled cookies on the reserved parchment sheets.
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15
Melt the chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat.
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16
(Alternatively, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in short increments to avoid burning the chocolate.)
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17
Dip a fork into the chocolate and drizzle it over the florentines in a zigzag pattern.
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18
Let the cookies sit until the chocolate has set, about 30 minutes.
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19
Store the florentines in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
