Marzipan Sweets: The Easy and Quick Recipe of ALMOND PASTE with these you will impress everyone and they will ask where you bought them!
Almond Paste Sweets a sweet and elegant way to delight your guests at the end of dinner that will surely amaze them!
An easy recipe even though it might seem otherwise for this soft and malleable ALMOND PASTE with which you can create magnificent sweets that are both beautiful and delicious, an original way to conclude the meal.
To prepare Almond Paste, you will need only 3 INGREDIENTS: Almonds, Sugar, and Egg White; I also add a few drops of Orange Flower Essence to perfume and flavor it. Then you can decide whether to leave it in its natural original color or make it more vibrant with a few drops of food coloring.
Once your Almond Paste is ready, you can go wild preparing many different treats using dried fruits. You will create small sweet finger foods to offer your guests that will delight their palate and eyes.
Everyone will ask you where you bought them, and they will never believe that in no time and with a few little tricks, they are your creation! And now let’s get to work!
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 20 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 40 sweets
- Cooking methods: No Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: New Year, Christmas
- Energy 382.75 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 44.80 (g) of which sugars 38.17 (g)
- Proteins 6.36 (g)
- Fat 20.50 (g) of which saturated 0.02 (g)of which unsaturated 0.02 (g)
- Fibers 4.36 (g)
- Sodium 4.35 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 40 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 cup blanched almonds (or almond flour)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 oz egg white (pasteurized)
- 1 tbsp orange flower water
- 2 drops food coloring (optional)
- 1 cup walnuts (shelled)
- 10 dried prunes
- 10 dates
- to taste granulated sugar (for decoration)
Tools
- Bowl
- Spoon
Steps
Grind the almonds with the sugar to powder, add the orange flower water and the egg white gradually. The mixture should be quite compact and not too wet (keep some almonds in reserve if it turns out too hard or dry).
Pour the sifted powdered sugar, almond flour, and egg white into a bowl. Start mixing with a spoon, then move to a work surface and continue by hand until forming a compact and homogeneous dough.
Marzipan (or Almond Paste) can be used in its natural color or colored by adding food coloring. I recommend adding it gradually to decide the desired tone. If you will color the almond paste, do it inside a bowl, preferably with pastry gloves to avoid too much mess. If you want to prepare colored Almond Paste, remove 1/3 from the dough and add the food coloring, kneading until it becomes a uniform color. Wrap the marzipan loaves in plastic wrap and let them rest in the fridge for at least 3 hours. It can be prepared in advance (the day before) and left to rest in the refrigerator overnight.
To make the ALMOND PASTE sweets, create small cylinders with the Marzipan dough if you want to “fill” dried prunes and/or dates (obviously previously pitted and cut in half lengthwise); then place the dough in place of the pit. Once ready, dip the visible Marzipan part in a plate with granulated sugar.
To make the walnut sweets, take a small amount of dough, create a ball with your hands, and place it between two walnut halves like a “sandwich,” always finishing the decoration by dipping them in a plate with granulated sugar.
Finally, to create the PINK BALLS of colored almond paste, simply take a small amount of dough and shape it into balls with your hands. A final pass in granulated sugar and these will be ready too. For a different presentation, you can place each sweet in a colorful paper cup.
NOTES
EGG WHITE Since MARZIPAN does not require baking, I recommend using pasteurized egg whites sold in cartons at the supermarket to avoid eating raw egg whites. The amount of egg white may slightly vary depending on the almonds (almond flour). The more oily they are, the less egg white you will need to add.
SUBSTITUTIONS Some recipes suggest using water instead of egg white, but the almond paste would be less elastic. It is better to replace the egg white with glucose instead of water for better dough elasticity.
TIPS If the almond paste seems too soft, you can thicken it by adding more ground almonds or almond flour. Conversely, if it seems too dry, add a few drops of egg white at a time, but do not overdo it. To prevent the Almond Paste from sticking to the work surface while working it, you can dust the surface with a bit of powdered sugar, not flour.
STORAGE
Homemade almond paste (marzipan) can be stored in the refrigerator for up to several days, well wrapped in plastic wrap. After preparing the sweets, I recommend eating them the same day. Alternatively, the marzipan loaf can be frozen. The night before using it, move it from the freezer to the refrigerator to gradually soften.
