I don’t normally have a sweet tooth and I also don’t normally eat my way through half a recipe before it’s even finished but I’m guilty on both counts with these delicious marzipan balls.
I have now made a massive batch, putting them in little bags tied with pretty festive ribbons to give to friends and families as a Christmas treat – no idea when I became all domesticated and twee but I just wanted to share with everyone how fantastic they are.
I’ve always been a staunch marzipan fan, it’s literally one of my favourite things but commercial products only contain around 25% nuts, the rest is different types of sugars (including glucose fructose syrup), colours and various other additives that I’d rather avoid.
I call these versions guilt-free as although they do contain some maple syrup they are also packed with antioxidants from the chocolate and protein and healthy fats from the almonds. In fact homemade versions contain over 90% almonds but still retain the traditional taste that takes me back to my childhood.
- 1.5 cups ground almonds
- 2.5 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp rose water or vanilla extract
- 100 g dark chocolate
- Place all the ingredients (except chocolate) in a food processor or a mixing bowl and combine. I tend to just use a bowl and a fork to save on washing up. You can add more almonds if the mix seems to wet but it does harden up further in the fridge.
- Remove from the bowl and gently kneed with your hands for a minute before wrapping in clingfilm. Leave to harden in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Remove from the fridge and roll the marzipan into small balls. Place the balls in the freezer for half an hour (I usually leave them in there for days!).
- Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water. Once melted, remove from the heat.
- Drop each ball into the melted chocolate and remove with two forks letting any excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Lay the balls onto a tray lined with greaseproof paper and leave to set in the fridge.
We hope you enjoy these chocolates, let us know how you get on in the comments below or on our facebook page and don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter to receive more recipes, nutrition tips and expert advice.