Almond paste is typical of Italian festivals, especially in the South. We can prepare typical recipes or indulge in imagination; the beauty of almond paste is that, in addition to being very tasty, it is also quite malleable and allows us to give vent to creativity.
So let's start with the classic amaretti, and then have fun with many Christmas shapes and even the gingerbread men become more Mediterranean and turn into little men of ... almond cake !
The recipe for amaretti with lots of almonds and no flour
Ingredients :
> 1 kg of unpeeled almonds,
> 800 grams of sugar (preferably whole brown sugar),
> 2 whole eggs,
> the juice of 2 lemons,
> a teaspoon of crushed cinnamon.
Procedure : finely chop the almonds, keeping aside a handful that will be used to decorate the macaroons. Put the chopped almonds on a pastry board together with about 700 grams of sugar (the rest is for the cover). Add the cinnamon and mix all the dry ingredients.
Make a hole in the center and pour in the juice of two lemons and the two eggs. Knead until the dough is compact. Get lots of balls, put them in the remaining sugar, lightly crush and place an almond (or even half an almond) in the center. Bake at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes. The cakes are ready when they begin to crack and should not be removed from the pan before they have cooled well, otherwise they lose their shape.
Try the Christmas dessert recipes for children
Almond paste to make fun shapes
What follows is an almond paste recipe that allows you to create fun shapes . For example, you could create these cute Santa Claus:
Or if you prefer something simpler, you could make these snowmen .
There are many forms that can be made. Much also depends on manual skills; if you are not very experienced, better start with something not too elaborate. In this recipe the almond paste is made raw, that is to say making the dough without putting it on the fire.
Ingredients :
> 1 kg of peeled almonds,
> 700 grams of granulated sugar,
> 265 ml of water,
> 20 ml of Benevento liqueur,
> 15 ml of lemon juice.
Procedure : finely chop the almonds with the sugar, until you get a mixture that looks like a flour. Prepare about 300 ml of syrup with the liqueur, lemon juice and water; in reality it could be too much, because a lot depends on how much they absorb the almonds; the wets it, then, when the time comes, it will be added a little at a time.
The relationship between lemon, alcohol and water can also be different from the suggested one, a lot depends on the flavor you want to get. Obviously, if the almond paste sweets are intended for children, eliminate the liqueur; in that case make 270 ml of water and 30 ml of lemon juice.
After preparing the dry and the liquid part, begin to knead by adding a little liquid at a time, until you get an almond paste that, while still remaining a little sticky on your hands, comes off easily from the pastry board.
At this point, it is possible to color the almond paste and indulge in the shapes. The inside of the sweets can be left entirely of almond paste or stuffed with pieces of sponge cake, dark chocolate and candied orange peel.
Gingerbread cookies with almonds
And if we made Christmas cookies this year with almonds?
Ingredients :
> 600 grams of flour,
> 300 grams of whole cane sugar,
> 250 grams of butter (or margarine),
> 400 grams of almonds (mixed, peeled and unpeeled),
> 2 eggs,
> a nice pinch of salt,
> 2 nice pinches of baking soda,
> a teaspoon of cinnamon and one of ginger.
Procedure : finely chop the almonds, mix all the dry ingredients and then add the eggs and the butter. If the dough is difficult to work, add a few tablespoons of milk. Once you have a nice ball of dough, let it rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
Pull the dough not too thin, more or less one centimeter thick. Make your favorite Christmas shapes and bake at 180 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Decorate to taste.
These almond gingerbread cookies are a great Christmas breakfast idea.
