The connections between Old World and New World foods are a continual fascination.
Take mazapan, for example. You may find these little round peanutty candies in Mexican specialty markets. They’re usually individually wrapped, but sometimes a quartet comes in a pretty yellow box.
With just three ingredients, they’re simple to make at home and I’m going to tell you how to do so today.
But it’s easy to see the connection between Old World marzipan and New World mazapan.
Marzipan is traditionally made with ground almonds, confectioners’ sugar, and a couple of egg whites, often with a little almond extract for additional flavor. When it’s finished, it’s almost like Play-Doh. Some people add food coloring and model the marzipan into fruits, vegetables, or little animals to stand alone or decorate a cake. German bakers specialize in incredibly lifelike creations; they also include marzipan as a filling for traditional Christmas stollen.
Marzipan has been around for centuries. My guess, given the ground almonds, is that it has medieval origins.
In the New World, however, almonds were harder to come by, at least until the newly planted almond trees began to bear. How sensible, then, that some creative cook turned to easy-to-grow peanuts to make a similar product. The similarity of the names suggests to me that our creative cook knew about Old World marzipan.
A few of these simple candies makes a lovely gift if you need something on the fly to give to a neighbor or coworker.
Mazapan
Makes 7 to 8 candies
Feel free to double this recipe. The chocolate glaze is not traditional but adds a delicious extra touch – sort of a Southwestern version of a peanut butter cup. You’ll need a 2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter to shape the candies. Sometimes I make bigger candies using my Michigan mitten cookie cutter; if you use anything other than a round cutter, use a cotton swab to gently ease the candy from the cutter.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups roasted unsalted peanuts
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ¹⁄³ to 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, melted, for glaze, optional
1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream, optional
Preparation
Place the peanuts in a food processor fitted with the metal knife blade. Process in pulses until the peanuts are crumbly. You don’t want to overprocess them — they’ll become oily.
Add the cinnamon and 1 ¹⁄³ cup confectioners’ sugar to the peanuts. Pulse again a couple of times to combine the sugar and peanuts evenly. Check to see if you can compress the mixture by pinching up a finger or two’s worth; if it’s not holding together, add additional confectioners’ sugar a tablespoon at a time, pulsing and checking after each addition. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.
Place a 2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter on a piece of parchment paper. Pack it full of the peanut mixture, pressing down hard to compress the mixture. You can’t press too hard when you’re packing the mixture into the cutter.
Gently remove the cutter by pressing on the sides and sliding upwards. I use a spoon to gently press the candy’s sides away from the cutter before trying to unmold it. If it breaks, no worries – you can scoop up the ruined candy and return it to the bowl to re-use, crushing it further with a fork if needed. Repeat with remaining peanut mixture.
Because these candies are crumbly by nature, I like to put a little chocolate on their tops – it seems to help to hold them together a bit. If you’d like to do so, melt the semisweet chocolate on the stovetop or microwave. Whisk in the heavy cream if you’re using that. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then pour it into a pastry bag or zip-top bag — if you’re using a zip-top, snip off one corner when the bag is filled.
Drizzle the candies with the melted chocolate. Allow to cool completely, then wrap each in plastic wrap.
Store candies in the refrigerator until you’re going to eat them. If you’re giving them as gifts, it’s OK to leave them at room temperature almost indefinitely, although the chocolate may melt and smear a little on the plastic wrap.
