From the ALMOND BOARD OF CALIFORNIA

Makes 20 servings

Marzipan for Christmas is a treasured treat…but when combined with crunchy almond, almond praline, and chocolate, it turns into a decadent dessert for the holidays!

NOTE: This recipe is measured out in grams. A conversion calculator can be used, if desired.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SHELL

150g Tempered milk chocolate

FOR THE FILLING

FILLING – ALMOND PRALINE

36g Natural almonds (no shell)

72g Sugar

16g Unsalted butter

50g Almond butter

10g Dark chocolate (tempered)

FILLING – CARAMELIZED ALMONDS

125g Natural almonds (no shell)

Sugar 100g

FILLING – MARZIPAN GANACEH

100g Marzipan 1:1

40g Heavy cream

75g Milk chocolate (tempered)

16g Kirschwasser

1g Sea salt

2g Dried orange peel

1g Dried fennel seeds

DIRECTIONS

FOR THE SHELL

1.Polish chocolate baton mold and set aside.

2.Slightly warm molds and fill cavities with tempered milk chocolate. Vibrate away any bubbles. Flip over and knock out excess chocolate; set upside down on parchment.

3.Once chocolate slightly sets, scrape off excess chocolate from around the cavities and set aside.

FOR THE FILLING

1.Roast all the natural almonds and set aside 36 grams for praline.

2.Sprinkle sugar on the rest to caramelize. Spread on parchment and set aside to cool.

3.Once cooled, slightly pulse the caramelized almonds in a food processor until size of rice grains; set aside.

4.Make a dry caramel by slowly stirring the sugar in a pot over medium heat, until it is all dissolved and has a nice rich caramel color. Add butter and stir until melted. Add the 36 grams of roasted almonds, stirring to coat. Pour out onto parchment and cool.

5.Once cooled, grind until it is a very fine powder, then fold in the almond butter and tempered chocolate.

6.Pipe the praline into the baton shells (fill about 1/3 of cavity).

7.Sprinkle caramelized almonds on top of praline.

8.Grind the sea salt, dried orange peel, and dried fennel together until very fine. Add to heavy cream and heat up to before boiling.

9.Place marzipan in the food processor and pulse slowly while adding cream until incorporated. Fold in the tempered milk chocolate and Kirshwasser.

10.Pipe marzipan ganache into the mold; do not overfill. After ganache has set, seal the molds with tempered milk chocolate.

11.Let set in cool room 60 degrees to 65 degrees F for five minutes before placing them in refrigerator until they have released from mold (average 7-10 minutes).

12.Unmold the chocolate batons and enjoy!

Find this recipe and more holiday treats at almonds.com