Marzipan Bars From Koloman Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Bake

by: Amanda Hesser

September15,2023

4

3 Ratings

  • Prep time 30 minutes
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • Serves 12

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

This recipe was created by Emiko Chisholm, pastry chef at Koloman, who came to the Food52 Test Kitchen to show us how she makes this magical confection that has the scent of an almond cake, the crunch of brittle, the chewiness of a great macaroon, and the waves of chocolate that say candy bar.

Ingredient Note: You may need to source some marzipan or almond paste made with >50% almonds and smoked salt. —Amanda Hesser

Test Kitchen Notes

From "Magical Candy Bars That Anyone Can Bake at Home." —Food52

  • Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients
  • 500 gramsmarzipan or almond paste (see headnote)
  • 250 gramssugar
  • 50 gramshoney
  • 65 gramsegg whites
  • 1 1/3 cupssliced almonds, chopped
  • 1/2 cupapricot jam
  • 4 ouncesbittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • Smoked Maldon salt, for sprinkling on top
Directions
  1. Heat the oven to 400°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the marzipan, sugar, honey, and egg whites. Beat together just until the mixture is combined.
  2. Divide the marzipan dough into 12 equally sized lumps, each a scant ¼ cup. Place a bowl of water by your side so you can lightly dampen your hands, then roll each marzipan lump into a ball, then roll the ball into a log about ¾ inch round. Dip your hands in water as needed, so the dough doesn’t stick. Repeat with the remaining lumps of dough.
  3. Spread the chopped almonds in a wide, shallow dish. Roll the marzipan logs in the almonds until they’re completely coated, but still retaining their shape. Transfer 6 logs to each baking sheet, placing them at least 3 inches apart.
  4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. They’re done when the outer edges turn golden brown. Remove the pans from the oven and let cool on racks.
  5. Heat the apricot jam with 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan. Simmer the jam until it is loose and spreadable but not watery. Use a pastry brush to spread a thin layer of the jam glaze on top of the bars.
  6. Melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted. If you’re skilled with pastry bags, you can pipe very thin stripes of chocolate across the bars. Alternatively, dip a small spoon into the chocolate and using a rocking motion with your hand, drip thin lines of chocolate back and forth over the top of the bars. Finish each bar with a sprinkling of smoked Maldon salt. Eat warm or at room temperature.

Tags:

  • Candy
  • Austrian
  • American
  • Almond
  • Marzipan
  • Chocolate
  • Egg
  • Bake
  • Halloween
  • Weekend Cooking
  • Christmas
  • Fall

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Tara Padua

  • Hannah

  • Amanda Hesser

  • latalick

Recipe by: Amanda Hesser

Before starting Food52 with Merrill, I was a food writer and editor at the New York Times. I've written several books, including "Cooking for Mr. Latte" and "The Essential New York Times Cookbook." I played myself in "Julie & Julia" -- hope you didn't blink, or you may have missed the scene! I live in Brooklyn with my husband, Tad, and twins, Walker and Addison.

Popular on Food52

10 Reviews

latalick February 7, 2024

I made this for the first time and it turned out perfectly. I had fun rolling out the logs and the results were fab - rave reviews all around.

I doubled the recipe with a 1kg bag of Lubecca Lubecker Marzipan Almond Paste and used semi sweet chocolate

Amanda H. February 7, 2024

Wonderful to hear this! And thanks for sharing the ingredient details you used.

Tara P. December 24, 2023

I've made these now twice and both times they came out perfectly.

I converted the grams to ounces and used "American Pure Almond Paste 7-Pound Tub",

No special equipment, although next time I will try with the shredding tool on a food process to try an mill the marzipan finer.

Amanda H. December 27, 2023

So glad to hear it's working well for you -- and thanks for sharing the almond paste brand you used!

Hannah October 30, 2023

The appeal of marzipan bars won me over in wanting to try this… however, this recipe was an unfortunate waste of time, money, and ingredients. The “dough” is so wet that you could not will these into a shape unless flash frozen. Quite surprised there was not some required chilling period as these blobs decided to bake themselves into the Pangea of marzipan “bar”. Lasting memories of clagginess. Sad day, as I was truly looking forward to making these.

Amanda H. November 2, 2023

Hi Hannah, I'm so sorry you had a bad experience with the recipe. We cross-tested it without any issues so I'd love to figure out what went awry with your batch. Clearly the dough was softer than it should be. Do you remember what brand almond paste or marzipan you used? Did you measure everything with a scale? Let me know and hopefully we can problem solve. Thanks!

Hannah November 6, 2023

Amanda, thank you for the insight! I've been thinking about this recipe for over a week now (the things to lose sleep over). I used Odense and am kicking myself for not double-checking the almond volume! I'll source a better brand marzipan.

I live and breath by my scale for baking, so let's hope the marzipan is the culprit here.

Thank you!

Amanda H. November 8, 2023

Let me know how it goes -- if it's not the marzipan and there's something wrong with the recipe, I'd love to fix it.

vellner September 15, 2023

Egg whites are not listed in the ingredients, yet they are called for in the instructions. How many egg whites are needed?

Amanda H. September 15, 2023

We'll fix this momentarily! Should be 65g.

Marzipan Bars From Koloman Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Who makes best marzipan? ›

The World's Finest Marzipan

Lubeca has been producing marzipan since 1904. The company continues to use traditional methods of production and is recognized by bakers, pastry chefs and chocolatiers as one of the leading producers of high quality almond paste marzipan.

What is the bar of marzipan? ›

You'll find that the marzipan in these bars is an elegant almond paste, with hints of honey and vanilla. Our chocolatiers mold the marzipan into a segmented bar and enrobe it in our standard 61% dark chocolate. It's perfect for breaking into small bite-size dreams, but you can eat the whole bar too.

What is marzipan from Switzerland? ›

Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imitations of fruits and vegetables.

Is marzipan a German dessert? ›

Marzipan is traditionally made in Northern Germany, but its popularity has spread throughout the country. It is used in many cakes, candies, desserts, and cookies, especially during the Christmas season.

What is the old name for marzipan? ›

The German name 'marzipan' has supplanted the original English name 'marchpane. ' Some theorise that it originally comes from the Latin 'martius panis', or 'March bread'. Others cite Arabic, Burmese, or Persian as the language of origin.

What is marzipan called in America? ›

What is Marzipan? Marzipan, also known as almond candy dough, is a smooth and pliable confectionary paste made from almonds that can be used as a cake icing or molded into candies. It features a clay-like consistency that makes it easy to handle.

How much alcohol is in marzipan? ›

Yes. The alcohol content of our raw marzipan mixture is less than 1% on manufacture and decreases further during storage. This percentage conforms with the permissible levels for products such as apple juice, kefir, sauerkraut or alcohol-free beer.

What is so special about marzipan? ›

The glory of marzipan is because it holds a shape easily, you can cut out or mold your own figures to decorate holiday pastries. It's also used as a kind of heavy-duty frosting for Christmas cakes because it helps long-keeping cakes (like fruitcakes) retain their moisture instead of going stale.

What's the difference between marzipan and mazapan? ›

Marzipan is a traditional food to eat on weddings and religious feast days in Italy, Greece, and Cyprus. In Latin America, a popular marzipan-like treat which replaces the almonds with peanuts is called "mazapan." In Mexico, pine nuts and pistachios are other substitutes for almonds in marzipan.

Is marzipan good for you? ›

1 Because marzipan is based on almonds, it is a sufficient content of vitamin E, in fact, as in the walnut. This vitamin in nature is a very powerful antioxidant and helps to fight stress and nervous tension.

What is the difference between French marzipan and German marzipan? ›

The German variety is a mixture of almonds and sugar ground coarse and heated until dry, and, after cooling, glucose and icing sugar are added. French marzipan is not cooked, but sugar is boiled with water and added to the almonds to render a finer, more delicate texture and whiter colour.

What city is famous for marzipan? ›

Lübeck Marzipan (German: Lübecker Marzipan) refers to marzipan originating from the city of Lübeck in northern Germany and has been protected by an EU Council Directive as a “Protected Geographical Indication” (PGI) since 1996.

What is the difference between almond paste and marzipan? ›

Compared to almond paste, marzipan has a higher proportion of sugar, which makes it sweeter, smoother, and more pliable—think Play-Doh. It's typically rolled, molded, dyed, and/or shaped (like into these adorable fruits!) and served as its own or used as a decorative element in larger desserts.

What nut makes marzipan? ›

Marzipan is typically made from finely ground blanched (skinless) almonds, confectioners' sugar, egg whites and almond extract to intensify flavor.

What is the most famous German dessert? ›

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte is Germany's most famous dessert. It's also known as Black Forrest Cake. What do German people eat for dessert?

Where does the best marzipan come from? ›

Certain cities and regions throughout Europe claim marzipan as a specialty: Spain's Toledo (where it has protected designation of origin status), Portugal's Algarve, Italy's Palermo and Germany's Lübeck.

Which is better marzipan or almond paste? ›

Almond paste has a coarser texture but is much softer than marzipan, which allows it to be spread as a filling. Unlike marzipan, almond paste holds up in baking. The sugar content of almond paste is lower and its almond content higher than marzipan.

What is the marzipan capital of the world? ›

The history of marzipan starts in a not-so-little town called Lübeck, the marzipan capital of the world! Let's find out how it all began and the best treats to try when visiting Lübeck. Lübeck is the second largest city on Germany's Baltic coast.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Duncan Muller

Last Updated:

Views: 6708

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (59 voted)

Reviews: 90% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Duncan Muller

Birthday: 1997-01-13

Address: Apt. 505 914 Phillip Crossroad, O'Konborough, NV 62411

Phone: +8555305800947

Job: Construction Agent

Hobby: Shopping, Table tennis, Snowboarding, Rafting, Motor sports, Homebrewing, Taxidermy

Introduction: My name is Duncan Muller, I am a enchanting, good, gentle, modern, tasty, nice, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.