In the Netherlands, we love to celebrate the feast of Saint Nicholas. Mid-November ‘Sinterklaas’ arrives in a port in the Netherlands, whereafter the celebration begins. Chocolate, ‘pepernoten’ and candy are everywhere those days ?? On Sint Nicholas’ Eve, on the 5th of December, we are giving gifts to family and friends. Most of the time by a ‘lottery’ where all names are written down on small papers. Then it’s time to pick a note and discover for who you’ll buy a gift and write a poem. As I said, sugar is everywhere these days, so I made these marzipan figures! ? What are you going to make?
Marzipan Animals
Equipment
- Bowl
- Kitchen Processor
Ingredients
- 250 gram Blanched Almonds or ground almonds or regular almonds
- 2 Egg whites
- 300 gram Powdered Sugar and 50 gram extra as back-up
- Olive Oil
- Food Coloring
Instructions
Blanching Almonds (if you use regular almonds)
- Let's start with blanching and cleaning the almonds. Add the almonds to a heat resistant bowl and covered with cooking water. Leave the almonds for 10 minutes in the water.
- Then drain them and rub them clean with a dishcloth. In this way you can easily remove the outer layer.
Making the Marzipan
- Make ground almonds by adding the blanched almonds to a food processor and blend it until you have a fine crumb. Add the egg whites to the almonds in the food processor, and blend through for 30 seconds.
- Add the first 150 gram of powdered sugar per tablespoons to the food processor. When the mixture forms a ball, you can take it out.
- Dust a little bit of powdered sugar on you kitchen counter to prevent the marzipan from sticking to the counter too much. Mix the rest of the powdered sugar through the marzipan by hand.
- If all the powdered sugar is added, it's time to add the food coloring and to go creative! One last tip; if the marzipan sticks to your hands too much, you can make your hands a bit greasy with some olive oil. This helps 😉