Almond Paste

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pacanis

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Someone brought me some almond paste from Turkey yesterday. Looking at the box they appear to be shaped like small discs. Can these be eaten as is?
I've done a little searching and it appears they are used a lot in baking or for making a paste to cover fish with :ermm: :sick: Which did not look appetizing.
I'm thinking because they appear to be shaped like a small cookie or candy, maybe they are eaten that way. Perhaps to nibble on when drinking coffee, but I am rather clueless about this item.
 
I only know it as an ingredient. Marzipan is a confection that has almond paste as a base with other ingredients. You probably should start your Christmas cookie baking with those almond paste disks.
 
For a simple almond paste cookie preheat you new toaster oven to 325 degrees.

For every eight ounces of almond paste you will need one extra large egg white, 1/2 cup of sugar.

You may also want to have on hand some slivered almonds, maraschino cherries or coarse granulated sugar for decoration.

Break almond paste into a mixing bowl and mix it, using an electric hand mixer, with the sugar until it breaks into small pieces, add the egg white and continue mixing for a couple of minutes until it is moist and sticky. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop rounded tablespoons of the mixture onto the baking sheet a couple of inches apart. Decorate with slivered almonds, 1/2 cherry or a sprinkle of sugar. Bake for approx. 25 to 30 minutes. When cool remove from parchment paper and store in an airtight container. This yields about 18 small cookies.
 
suppose it depends on whether they are sweetened or not pac.if they are unsweetened i can easily see them being used in savoury dishes.i add whole/blanched almonds to my lamb tagine.if the paste is sweetened try prising the stones out of dates & replacing them with a sliver of the almond paste.deelish mate!!
 
Shoot. I was hoping they could be eaten as is (assuming I like them).
Thanks for the replies and the recipe, Bea.
 
What makes you say you can't eat them as-is? They're your almond paste discs and it's your kitchen and cup of coffee. Give it a try! Truth be told, I'll sneak a couple of my Merken chocolate melting discs (I use them for the rare times I want to make homemade chocolate - but they keep evaporating :huh: ) when I have a craving for chocolate and not a bit of candy in the house.
 
What makes you say you can't eat them as-is? They're your almond paste discs and it's your kitchen and cup of coffee. Give it a try! Truth be told, I'll sneak a couple of my Merken chocolate melting discs (I use them for the rare times I want to make homemade chocolate - but they keep evaporating :huh: ) when I have a craving for chocolate and not a bit of candy in the house.

Because I have read anywhere that I can.
I wasn't sure if they were like baker's chocolate or something, only to be used in something or it's nasty.
Just because it's food doesn't mean I'll stick it in my mouth :LOL:
 
Because I have read anywhere that I can.
I wasn't sure if they were like baker's chocolate or something, only to be used in something or it's nasty.
Just because it's food doesn't mean I'll stick it in my mouth :LOL:
Taste a tiny bit and see if you like it. Then you will also know if there is sugar in it.
 
um...read the ingredient list, it will tell you if there is sugar in it. I love almod paste, but mine doesn't come in disks.
 
um...read the ingredient list, it will tell you if there is sugar in it. I love almod paste, but mine doesn't come in disks.

um... it's in Turkish ;)
I can't even tell if there's an ingredient list on the box. It might as well be in Farsi.
I ate one. I was not impressed. I don't think it's a nibble on food.
 
Spot on Harry,
Now you're talking! Stuffed dates are one of the best 'petit fours' in the whole wide world and are my own Christmas gift to myself (in case no-one else gives me any!! ) but I see no reason why you cannot enjoy them on their own with coffee. Nibble one and see if the taste is pleasing on the tongue. If so, hide away and eat them yourself.............only joking!! You see boxes of them here in France, very often coloured pink, apricot,pistashio green and are sometimes taken as a gift when invited to dinner at a friends home.
 
I may be giving Bea's cookie recipe a go when I'm feeling brave and courageous.
 
What are your thoughts about dropping a few discs into ice vanilla cream?
 
I bought some almond paste today for a pear tart I'm making.
that is the best andy.thin crispy pastry,layer of almond paste,pears on top.baked until the pears are soft & the marzipan goes soft & gooey...deeeelish:chef:.....if we are talking about the same thing that is!!
 
that is the best andy.thin crispy pastry,layer of almond paste,pears on top.baked until the pears are soft & the marzipan goes soft & gooey...deeeelish:chef:.....if we are talking about the same thing that is!!
That does sound yummy.

The term "marzipan" refers to something that has a lot more sugar than Danish "marcipan". I think that what North Americans call almond paste is what a Dane, and maybe a Brit, would call marcipan/marzipan.
 
What I call almond paste has far less sugar than marzipan. I can make marzipan out of almond paste. With almond butter I can make almond paste, with that I can make many different dishes. Once I make marzipan, it does not change it's character.
 
that is the best andy.thin crispy pastry,layer of almond paste,pears on top.baked until the pears are soft & the marzipan goes soft & gooey...deeeelish:chef:.....if we are talking about the same thing that is!!

That's pretty much all there is Harry. I make a frangipane with the almond paste, butter, sugar and vanilla. After baking, I'll brush an apricot glaze over the top.
 
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