Homemade Almond Paste

[Gerrycooks]

My sister gave me a large bag of almonds. She made almond paste and said it is very good.
Has anyone made their own almond paste? What tips do you have?? I would appreciate any comments
Gerrycooks

 

[Charlotte]

Here is a recipe that does not use eggs in case you want to try something different...
http://www.ochef.com/575.htm

 

[KathyJ]

bumping this thread up since I had the same question.....

I've downloaded/printed a couple recipes to try.

has anyone actually made it themselves?

It is just way too expensive at the store ($6 for 7 oz). My favorite holiday recipe uses 1 lb per batch and I usually make 3-4 batches. The local Blue Diamond store sells 7 lb cans for $40 (which actually is almost half the price as the grocery stores) but still high for me all at once. Though it does keep in the refrigerator until the next year.

thanx

 

[ChefJune]

I find all the prepared Almond paste I've ever tried way too sweet.

I make my own in my Cuisinart Food Processor...

1 1/2 cups cold water
1 cup blanched almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg white
2 tablespoons unsalted butter @ room temp
1 teaspoon almond extract

1. In a small (1 quart) saucepan, bring the water quickly to a boil. Add the almonds. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 8 minutes. Drain and cool for 15 minutes.
2. In your food processor fitted with the metal blade, process the almonds and sugar until smooth (about 1 1/2 minutes) stopping frequently to scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the egg white, butter and flavoring and process for 1 more minute. Refrigerate until needed.

At holiday time, or if I'm making a bunch of coffee cakes, I can make this 4X at once because I have a 14-cup food processor...

 

[KathyJ]

thanks chefjune!!

How much does your recipe make?

it's a different recipe from the ones I have; none of them use butter.
guess I'll have to have a recipe testing day!!!
(this is for almond paste and not marzipan, right?)

If I wanted a sweeter version of your recipe, would I just add a bit more sugar? I don't have a problem with the store-bought paste being too sweet. Probably why I like it!

I'm just hoping to get the cost factor down.... blanched almonds will still cost me $6.12/lb at the Blue Diamond store...whereas the paste is only $5.71/lb. (cheaper than the grocery store at $6/7 oz.) Just not sure if 1 lb nuts equals 1 lb paste....


added:
just looked at one of the recipes I had....
calls for 1 lb blanched almonds, 3 T fresh lemon juice, 1 c water and 2 c sugar. says it makes 2 lbs.....
if that's true, I'm thinking it would be cheaper to make it myself, as I would only need 1/2 lbs of nuts for 1 lb of paste.
But does anyone know if that's a fact?