Chef Klaus
Aachener Printen
Aachen's Advent biscuit is dark, hard, and spiced, with beet syrup doing the deep work and a closed tin finishing what the oven only starts.
Culinary Explorer
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Marzipankartoffeln
Created by
The north's plain Advent confection: almond marzipan rolled into little potatoes, dried just enough to hold, then dusted with cocoa so they look pulled from the earth.
Desserts
German
Christmas
Holiday
Make Ahead
30 min
Active Time
0 min cook•1 hr total
Yield36 pieces
Marzipankartoffeln belong to Advent, and they belong strongest to the northern marzipan cities, Lübeck first, with Königsberg standing in the old memory. They sit in the Plätzchenteller, the Christmas cookie plate, even though no oven is involved. A child can roll them, but only if the paste is right.
The argument is old and simple. In the north, the almond does the work: good Marzipanrohmasse, almond paste, little sugar, a touch of rosewater or bitter almond, then cocoa. In the south, you'll find rum, kirsch, more spice, sometimes too much icing sugar. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. I keep them northern, because the whole joke of the sweet is that it looks like a potato and tastes of almonds, not perfume.
The one technique is drying the rolled marzipan before the cocoa. Give the balls ten to fifteen minutes in the air so the surface turns slightly tacky, not wet. Roll too soon and the cocoa clumps into mud; wait too long and it slides off like dust from a boot. Das braucht seine Zeit, even when the recipe has no oven.
Nicht aus dem Glas, and not from a waxy packet that tastes only of sugar. Use almond-rich marzipan, knead it warm in your hands, and roll the pieces unevenly. Potatoes are not billiard balls. Schön ist, was schmeckt.
Lübeck's marzipan grew from the Hanseatic trade that brought almonds and sugar north through Baltic merchant routes, and the city became the German name most closely tied to the confection. Niederegger, founded in Lübeck in 1806, helped make the city's marzipan famous beyond the region, and Lübecker Marzipan is now protected in the European Union as a geographical indication. Marzipankartoffeln turn that expensive almond sweet into a domestic Advent joke: little earth-dusted potatoes made from feast-day ingredients.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
good Marzipanrohmasse, almond paste
Quantity
400g
at room temperature
icing sugar
Quantity
60g
sifted, plus more only if needed
rosewater
Quantity
1 teaspoon
bitter almond extract (optional)
Quantity
2 drops
finely ground blanched almonds (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
unsweetened cocoa powder
Quantity
2 tablespoons
ground cinnamon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
fine salt
Quantity
1 small pinch
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| good Marzipanrohmasse, almond pasteat room temperature | 400g |
| icing sugarsifted, plus more only if needed | 60g |
| rosewater | 1 teaspoon |
| bitter almond extract (optional) | 2 drops |
| finely ground blanched almonds (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
| unsweetened cocoa powder | 2 tablespoons |
| ground cinnamon | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fine salt | 1 small pinch |
Equipment Needed
- •Kitchen scale
- •Fine sieve
- •Baking paper
- •Skewer or blunt knife tip
- •Cookie tin
Instructions
- 1
Knead the marzipan
Break the marzipan into pieces and knead it with the sifted icing sugar, rosewater, bitter almond if using, and the salt until smooth. Use your hands, not a machine; the warmth softens the almond fat and lets the sugar disappear without making the paste oily.
- 2
Correct the texture
Pinch off a small piece and roll it. If it slumps or sticks heavily to your palm, knead in the ground almonds, a teaspoon at a time, because almond dries the paste without making it taste only of sugar. Icing sugar tightens it faster, but too much turns good marzipan into sweet putty.
Good marzipan should feel pliable, not greasy. If it shines wet on your hands, rest it uncovered for ten minutes before rolling. - 3
Roll the potatoes
Divide the paste into about 36 pieces, 12 to 14g each, and roll them into small uneven ovals. Press a few shallow dimples in with a skewer or the blunt end of a knife, because a potato has eyes and a perfect ball has none. Set them on baking paper as you work.
- 4
Let them dry
Leave the rolled pieces uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until the surface feels barely tacky. This is the step that decides the coating: too wet and the cocoa turns muddy, too dry and it won't hold. Erst verstehen, dann kochen.
- 5
Dust with cocoa
Mix the cocoa and cinnamon in a shallow bowl, then roll the marzipan pieces through it in small batches. Shake off the excess in a sieve or between your palms so the coating looks like dry earth, not a thick crust. The almond should still be the first thing you taste.
- 6
Store for Advent
Pack the Marzipankartoffeln in a tin with baking paper between layers and let them sit at least a few hours before serving. The rosewater settles, the cocoa grips, and the pieces cut clean instead of smearing. Keep them cool and dry for up to two weeks.
Chef Tips
- •Buy Marzipanrohmasse with almonds high on the label. If sugar is doing all the talking, you can't fix it later with cocoa.
- •Rosewater is enough at one teaspoon. More turns the whole tin into perfume, and then nobody tastes the almond.
- •For a darker, more bitter finish, use Dutch-process cocoa. For a drier, earthier look, use natural cocoa. Both work, but sweet drinking chocolate does not.
- •Don't chill the paste hard before rolling. Cold marzipan cracks at the edges, and cracked potatoes look like a mistake, not a root vegetable.
- •Weggeworfen wird nichts: dry scraps from shaping can be kneaded back in with a few drops of rosewater.
Advance Preparation
- •Make them 1 to 3 days ahead. The cocoa settles and the almond flavour rounds out in the tin.
- •Store in a cool, dry place in a tightly closed tin for up to 2 weeks. Do not refrigerate unless your kitchen is warm; refrigerator moisture makes the cocoa patchy.
- •Freeze only before coating. Thaw the shaped marzipan uncovered until the surface is dry again, then roll in cocoa and cinnamon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 13g)
Calories
60 calories
Total Fat
3 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
5 mg
Total Carbohydrates
6 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
1 g
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