Check out this recipe for a non-almond version of traditional Marzipan. This week we’re featuring the white version of this recipe, but be sure to check back next week for the brown version!

Marzipan / White Marchpane 

4 eggs, beaten 10 to 15 minutes
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 ½ cups flour
3 tablespoons butter, softened

Preheat oven to 325°.

Beat eggs and powdered sugar with electric mixer until whipped. Blend in baking soda baking powder, and flour. Add butter. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before rolling out. Roll out on a floured board to ½-inch thickness. Using old fashioned cookie cutters with deep, sharp edges, cut into shapes (circles, stars, diamonds, simple Christmas trees). Place cutouts on cookie sheets or board. WIth the rim of a thimble or tip of a small spoon, pierce tops of cutouts with half-circles and circles (top must be punctured, or it will bubble). Cover sheets or boards with clean dish towels and store in a cool, dry place two days. Do not freeze or refrigerate.

Bake for 20 minutes. Cookies should be baked through and firm, but not browned.

Makes about 3 to 4 dozen.

Helene S. Kraus, Middle Amana,
and Carol Schuerer Zuber, East Amana

Note: Curiously , the Amana Marzipan recipes do not include almonds or almond paste, which is the fundamental ingredient of the German confection. Perhaps it is not so curious when we consider that it would have been difficult and expensive to procure almonds or almond paste in communal Amana. The Amana cooks improvised and came up with a very delicious variation on the Marzipan theme.

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This recipe comes from the cookbook Seasons of Plenty: Amana Communal Cooking and was posted with permission of author Emilie Hoppe. Learn more about the book and how to purchase it.