Marzipan without almond paste

[butzie]

I have a friend on the Cat Site who posted a question about using something other than almonds or almond paste to make marzipan. Okay, I think that it wouldn't be marzipan without almond paste, but she is a nice cat person.

She hangs them on her Christmas tree so they have to be the same consistency.

 

[butzie]

I forgot to say that she wants them to taste more like vanilla, but I can't find any marzipan recipe with vanilla extract.
Also, can you make marzipan with some other kind of nut?
Thanks.

 

[Andy M.]

Setting aside the fact that it wouldn't be marzipan without almonds, you could use another kind of nut and add some vanilla to it.

Marzipan is sweetened almond paste. I assume you could use another nut paste in place of the almond. Marzipan recipes don't contain vanilla because they are almond flavored. If you used walnuts in place of almonds, you could add some vanilla extract or powder to get the vanilla flavor.

 

[gadzooks]

Hazelnut paste flavored with vanilla. Very nice.

 

[jkath]

Hey! Gadzooks took my answer.....

but here's another - how about macadamia? oooooooooooh that would be good!

 

[college_cook]

The thing I would be worried about when switching nuts is the difference in fat content between varieties. I'm not sure how much more or less fatty almonds are than other nuts, but if they have significantly less oils in them than either hazlenuts or macadamia nuts, I think the added oil could affect the consistency.

 

[gadzooks]

Almonds and hazelnuts make the same consistency butters in my Champion juicer. I would guess that when adding (confectioners?) sugar to thicken, any necessary adjustments could be made. How is marzipan actually made, anyway?

 

[zzrdvark]

You could use peanuts instead of almonds. (called mazapan) I doubt it would taste anywhere near normal Marzipan, though.

 

[gadzooks]

Mazapan de la Rosa. Mexican peanut paste candy. It's sold in liquor and convenience stores all over southern California. Tastes OK, but I wouldn't try to sub it for marzipan.

 

[jkath]

How is marzipan actually made, anyway?

Recipes : Marzipan : Food Network