Thanksgiving Treats - Marzipan Bites

by Monika Bartyzel, Posted Nov 19th 2009 @ 4:00PM

Marzipan pumpkins. Photo: Monika Bartyzel

One of the biggest secrets of the baking world is that some of the most impressive treats are often quite easy to make -- especially when marzipan is involved. That thick and nutty almond paste offers a flavor perfect for Thanksgiving treats, and can easily be molded into any number of holiday-specific nibbles, whether you're an old sculpture pro or feel that you have two left hands.

The Marzipan
There are two ways you can whip up some moldable marzipan. Simply buy a package of almond paste at the store and use as-is, or get a lot more treats for your buck by mixing it up with some powdered sugar and homemade marshmallow cream. The latter will have a more almond-laced-with-frosting flavor, but also give you a lot more to work with, a desirable option when a tube of paste can run you $8 or more.

The following recipe is adapted from Gingerbread House Heaven.

Marzipan

8 ounces almond paste (1/2 pound, approximately 1 cup, 1 package)
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1/2 cup marshmallow cream (recipe below)
2 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl, rip off bits of the paste in your hands, crumbling it into very small pieces into the bowl -- think tiny pebbles and grains of sand -- the smaller the better.
Mix in the corn syrup (light or dark work fine) and cream, and then gradually add the sugar. At first, the mix will seem like a grainy mess of a mixture. Just stir until it's very thick, and then fold with your hands until all of the powder is incorporated. As the dough is worked, it will smooth out and eventually, the grains of paste will disappear. If it's still too sticky, add a little more sugar at a time until firm, but not dry. (This is a great job to hand off between two people.)
Wrap the mix in plastic wrap and keep covered when not in use.

Marshmallow Cream
makes a few cups

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup + 1/8 cup corn syrup (dark or light)
2 large egg whites to equal roughly 1/4 cup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small saucepan on medium heat, mix together sugar, water and 1/2 cup corn syrup, cover, and bring the mix to a rolling boil. Uncover the pot, add a candy thermometer and continue heating the mixture without stirring until the thermometer reads 242 degree F -- soft-ball stage.
While that's heating, beat the egg white and the remaining 1/8 cup corn syrup until stiff peaks form. Reduce the mixer's speed to medium and carefully add the boiling mixture into the bowl in a thin stream, very slowly. When it's completely added, throw in the vanilla extract and beat on high speed for about 5 minutes, until the mix is a good marshmallow-cream consistency.

Creating the Treats
While it looks daunting, this is the easy part, and the task can be as simple or complex as you desire. Molds take away all the need for artistry, but even the most newbie of hands can make cute concoctions with this marzipan, which is just a more wonderfully aromatic and tasty Play-Doh.

Rip off a clump of dough and color it with food color paste -- dip a toothpick into the paste, and drag it along the dough to transfer the color before kneading it through, adding more paste gradually for a deeper color.

Pumpkins: These are the easiest treats to make -- I even tested them on someone who hasn't sculpted anything since pre-school days. Just roll a small amount of orange dough into a sphere, and press down on the top slightly. This will give you the basic pumpkin shape. Grab a toothpick, hold it vertically, the opposite end pressed against the base of the mass, and gently push a line into the sphere -- when done, your fingers should be near the top of the pumpkin, and the opposite end will have moved away from the marzipan. Continue around the sphere to make grooves. For the stem, either press a chunk of dyed toothpick, stick, or clove into the top, or, use a toothpick to press a hole in the top before kneading a small amount of brown marzipan into a stem and inserting it into the hole.

Acorns: Dye a chunk of the almond dough tan, and a lesser amount dark brown. Take some of the tan dough and roll it into a cylindrical shape before pinching one end to make a tiny, sharp tip. Flatting some darker brown dough into a small circle, score it with hash marks using the back side of a butter knife and wrap it around the top of the acorn before adding a stem using the same technique as the pumpkins.

Pilgrim Hat: These take a little more effort. After kneading some dough black, make a small flat circle -- I used the cap from the food coloring paste to press the dough like a tortilla. Attach a cylinder on top and round the edges to make it look like a pilgrim's hat. Roll and cut a thin strip to wrap around the base, and then a small orange rope to make the buckle. The process sounds quick, but the details take time.

Maple Leaves: There's nothing easier than the maple leaf. Just roll out some appropriately colored dough to a thin, and uniform thickness and then use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes.

Easy as pie!

Next week: Get sweet with some pumpkin cake.

Filed Under: Holidays
Tags: almond paste, AlmondPaste, candy, marzipan, marzipan dough, MarzipanDough, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving candy, Thanksgiving recipes, Thanksgiving treats, ThanksgivingCandy, ThanksgivingDinner, ThanksgivingRecipes, ThanksgivingTreats