Homemade marzipan candy (aka marzipan potatoes) with a tad of delicious orange flavored booze.
A yummy treat for the holidays and perfect as a little Christmas gift as well!
Delicious marzipan paste refined with rose oil and orange liqueur (Cointreau), sweetened with icing sugar, and rolled in a dark chocolate coating!
A wonderful vegan, gluten-free, and lactose-free treat!
A delightful variation on our classic, nonalcoholic marzipan potatoes (rolled in cocoa powder) recipe.
🥘 Ingredients
- Store bought marzipan paste - vegan, gluten-free and lactose-free. It can also be substituted with homemade marzipan.
- Powdered sugar - for better incorporation of Cointreau and rosewater into the marzipan paste. Vegan, gluten-free, and lactose-free.
- Rose water - vegan, gluten-free, and lactose-free. Often used in Middle Eastern and Oriental cuisine to flavor desserts.
- Cointreau - Gives the marzipan candy an orange flavor.
- Dark chocolate - vegan, gluten-free, and lactose-free. We recommend using high-quality chocolate couverture for the best taste experience. Felchlin, Valrhona, Callebaut are popular ones we use. The dark chocolate coating gives these candies a beautiful earthy look, and no food coloring needs to be added.
- Powdered sugar - Use a little sugar to sprinkle on the cutting board. So that the marzipan does not stick.
See the recipe card for quantities.
🔪 Instructions
Similar to making our classic marzipan potatoes, first combine the raw marzipan with rosewater, Cointreau, and icing sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Then sprinkle some icing sugar on the work surface or a chopping board. Then, roll out the pre-prepared marzipan until it is as thick as a finger.
Then cut into cubes of approx. 1.5 x 1.5 cm // 0.6 x 0.6 inch and shape into small balls.
Cut the rolled-out marzipan into small cubes.
Take the marzipan cubes and shape them into small balls.
Place the finished rolled marzipan balls on a piece of greaseproof paper. Once all the balls are rolled, melt the chocolate coating using a water bath or tempering device.
Water bath: If you use a water bath for melting, you need two pots of different sizes. Fill one pot 3-4 finger-widths with water and place the second, smaller pot in it. The second pot should not touch the water! Now put the chocolate to be melted into the upper, smaller pot and melt it over moderate heat while stirring over the rising steam.
Tempering unit: Add the chocolate to be melted to the tempering unit and set it to the appropriate melting temperature. White and milk chocolate: 40 °C // 104 °F, dark chocolate 50 °C // 122 °F.
Put one to two teaspoons of the melted couverture into a mixing bowl and roll the marzipan balls in it until they are dull and dry. This will give a nice "earthy" look.
Put the marzipan balls in the bowl with the melted chocolate.
Roll until dull and dry.
Place the rolled marzipan potatoes back on the baking paper. Allow them to finish drying before storing them in a cookie jar.
🍸 Substitutions
You can substitute Cointreau with Amaretto or rum.
Amaretto has a delightful, marzipan-like flavor. Thus, the addition of amaretto additionally intensifies the marzipan taste.
On the other hand, rum is tart and somewhat brings down the sweet taste of this marzipan potato variant, which can be very accommodating.
🍽 Equipment
- Mixing bowl - to help knead the marzipan paste with Cointreau and rosewater.
- Chopping board
- Rolling pin - to roll out the marzipan paste.
- Sharp knife - to cut the rolled-out marzipan into cubes.
- Water bath or tempering device for melting the chocolate coating
- Medium-sized mixing bowl for rolling the marzipan potatoes.
- Baking parchment or greaseproof paper to place the finished marzipan candy on.
- Cookie jar for storage
🌡 Storage
Store the finished marzipan candy in a cool, dry place in an airtight container or cookie jar.
It is best to cover the jar with greaseproof paper and place greaseproof paper between the layers of marzipan candy to prevent them from sticking together.
💭 Top tips
We recommend using disposable gloves to make preparation easier and prevent the sticky marzipan from clinging to your fingers.
The amount of melted couverture you need depends on your bowl size. We recommend starting with a small amount and working your way up if necessary. If too much chocolate is used, the coated marzipan potatoes will look more like truffles and have a different matte appearance.
If you fancy boozy chocolate candy, try these delicious, traditional rum balls!
🙋🏻 FAQ
No. Marzipan doesn't have any milk.
In a biscuit tin or airtight container, homemade marzipan candies will keep for up to 6 months. Make sure they are stored in a cool, dry place.
Cointreau is a brand of orange liqueur made by the same name company. It's based on a formula created by Adolphe Cointreau in 1875 and is one of the oldest liqueurs. The recipe for Cointreau contains only natural ingredients, including sugar, water, alcohol, and orange peel.
Cointreau has a light orange flavor with notes of tangerine and vanilla on the nose. It is sweet and citrusy, with a hint of bitterness from the peel. The taste is similar to Grand Marnier, another famous orange liqueur invented around the same time.
Rosewater has a sweet taste resembling vanilla. The scent, on the other hand, is actually that of roses.
In order to obtain high-quality rosewater without the risk of contamination by harmful substances, we recommend buying it at a pharmacy or drugstore.
Yes. When making marzipan candy, you can replace rose oil with bitter almond or orange oil. The bitter almond oil gives the candy a more intense almond flavor. On the other hand, orange oil refines the marzipan potatoes with a wonderfully refreshing orange aroma.
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📖 Recipe
Homemade Marzipan Candy
Equipment
- Chopping board
- Rolling Pin
- Sharp knife
- Water bath or tempering device - for melting the chocolate coating
- Medium-sized for rolling the marzipan candy
- Baking parchment or greaseproof paper to place the finished marzipan candy on.
- Cookie jar
Ingredients
- 9 oz Marzipan paste
- 2 cups Powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon Rose water
- 3 tablespoon Cointreau
- ¼ cup Dark chocolate couverture
- Powdered sugar for sprinkling the chopping board
Instructions
- First knead the raw marzipan with rosewater, Cointreau, and icing sugar in a large mixing bowl, combining them well.9 oz Marzipan paste, 2 cups Powdered sugar, 2 teaspoon Rose water, 3 tablespoon Cointreau
- Then sprinkle some icing sugar on the work surface or a chopping board and roll out the pre-prepared marzipan until it is as thick as a finger.Powdered sugar
- Then cut into cubes of approx. 1.5 x 1.5 cm // 0.6 x 0.6 inch and shape into small balls.
- Place the finished rolled marzipan balls on a piece of greaseproof paper. Once all the balls are rolled, melt the chocolate coating.¼ cup Dark chocolate couverture
- Put one to two teaspoons of the melted couverture into a mixing bowl and roll the marzipan balls in it until they are dull and dry.
- Place the rolled marzipan potatoes back on the baking paper and allow them to finish drying before storing them in a cookie jar.
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
⛑️ Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For further information, check Safe Food Handling - FDA.
Nancy says
Wow this marzipan candy potato balls was very tasty and festive. I shaped it into hearts for vday and the kids were thrilled ! I even got them to help shape them.
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
This is so easy!