Mazapán de Pepita Poblano

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Dry comal or heavy skillet
• •Metate, food processor, or spice grinder
• •Small copper cazo or heavy saucepan
• •Candy thermometer or small bowl of cold water for testing syrup
• •Wooden mazapán molds or 1 1/2-inch ring cutter

Instructions

1. 1

   Sort the pepitas

   Pick through the pepitas with your fingers and remove any bits of shell. Good pepita de calabaza verde should smell sweet and nutty before it ever touches the comal. If it smells stale, oily, or bitter, do not use it. You can have perfect technique and old seeds will still give you a bad mazapán.

2. 2

   Toast them pale

   Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add the pepitas and stir constantly for 4 to 6 minutes, until they puff slightly and smell warm and nutty. Keep them green. Do not brown them. Browned pepita tastes harsh and makes a muddy-looking candy. Spread them on a tray and let them cool completely.

   Reserve 2 tablespoons of the best-looking toasted pepitas if you want to press one or two into the top of each mazapán. The old Puebla dulcerías often keep the surface plain, so either choice is correct.
3. 3

   Grind the seed

   Measure out 1/4 cup of the sugar and pulse it with the cooled pepitas in a food processor or spice grinder. Work in short bursts. You want a fine, sandy meal that holds together when pinched, not pepita butter. The sugar catches the oil and keeps the grind from turning greasy. On a metate this is slower, yes, and the texture is beautiful. In a machine, pay attention.

   If the paste starts shining and clumping heavily, stop grinding. You have released too much oil. No me vengas con atajos. Short pulses are the shortcut that actually works.
4. 4

   Cook the almíbar

   Put the remaining 1 cup sugar, water, and canela in a small copper cazo or heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. After that, leave it alone and swirl the pan if needed. Cook to 235F to 238F, the punto de bola suave. Without a thermometer, drop a little syrup into cold water; it should gather into a soft ball that flattens between your fingers. Remove the canela. Stir in the salt and the agua de azahar if using.

   Do not add corn syrup. This candy is built on sugar point and seed oil, not factory tricks. The almíbar is the inheritance.
5. 5

   Bind the paste

   Lower the heat to the smallest flame. Add the ground pepita all at once and stir with a wooden spoon for 3 to 5 minutes. The mixture will look loose, then thick, then it will pull from the sides of the pan in a soft mass. Stop there. Overcook it and the oil separates. Undercook it and the rounds slump instead of holding their shape.

6. 6

   Press the rounds

   Dust a wooden mazapán mold, small ring cutter, or clean work surface lightly with azúcar glass. When the paste is warm enough to handle, knead it for 20 seconds, just until smooth. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces and press them firmly into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Pack hard. A timid hand makes a candy that crumbles before it reaches the talavera platter.

7. 7

   Dry and wrap

   Set the mazapanes on parchment and let them stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour, until the surface turns matte and the rounds lift cleanly. Press a whole toasted pepita into the top while still warm if you reserved them. Wrap each candy in wax paper or pastel papel de china if you are serving them the Puebla way. Store airtight in a cool, dry place.

Chef Tips

• •Buy raw hulled pepita verde where turnover is fast. In Puebla, Mercado de La Acocota and Mercado 5 de Mayo are better teachers than a supermarket aisle. The seeds should be green, not gray, and they should smell sweet when you warm them in your hand.
• •This is not the peanut mazapán that crumbles in cellophane. That one has its place, but this is Puebla's conventual logic: local seed, sugar point, pressure, patience. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
• •Agua de azahar belongs to the old confitería pantry. If you cannot find it, leave it out. Do not replace it with vanilla extract. That changes the perfume and makes the candy taste like a bakery case.
• •Humidity is the enemy. Make mazapán de pepita on a dry day if you can. If the paste feels sticky after pressing, let the rounds dry another hour before wrapping.
• •If the finished candy crumbles too much, the syrup was short or you did not press firmly enough. If it feels oily, the pepitas were ground too long or cooked too hard. The seed tells on you.

Advance Preparation

• •The pepitas can be toasted one day ahead. Cool them completely and store airtight before grinding.
• •The finished mazapanes keep for 5 days in an airtight tin at cool room temperature. Do not refrigerate unless your kitchen is very hot; refrigerator moisture softens the surface.
• •For a celebration table, press and wrap them the day before. The texture settles overnight and the canela perfume becomes clearer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 23g)