Mini marzipan scones

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Hands down almond is my favorite flavor. I can vaguely recall a time as a child when I didn’t like marzipan, but those days are far behind me. Something happened and now I can’t get enough of anything almond-flavored.

Some of my favorite almond recipes are already up here on the blog…Spanish Almond Cake, Bakewell Tart, Marzipan Brownies and more!

Other recipes haven’t made it up yet but they are bound to appear here one of these days (things like: Italian Rainbow Cookies, Italian Wedding Cookies, Bearclaws, Macarons, Caprese Torte and the list goes on).

At the beginning of Christmas holiday baking, we usually make a big batch of homemade almond paste /marzipan. It’s really easy to make it from scratch starting with whole almonds, but even easier if you’ve got a bag of almond flour on hand. This year, after all the holiday baking died down, I had a remnant of marzipan still stored away in the fridge, so I was inspired to make these treats below.

In the notes section of our Cream Scones recipe, Maria recommends breaking up bits of marzipan and adding them to the dough as a flavor variation. Those Cream Scones will always be my favorite, go-to scone recipe, but this time around I wanted scones with a slightly more delicate and crumbly texture and richer flavor, which is achieved by including butter and egg in the pastry base. Slicing up these scones mini-sized, topping with a drizzle of almond icing and a sprinkle of sliced almonds makes these a decadent but reasonable treat for breakfast or afternoon snack.

makes 16 mini scones

Ingredients:

[for the scones:]

2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes*
3-4 oz of almond paste or marzipan (see note)
1 egg
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp lemon zest (optional)

*reduce salt to 1/4 teaspoon if using salted butter

[for the topping:]

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add cold cubed butter and use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut in the butter until it is broken up into pea-sized bits (see pictures below for reference).
Break the marzipan/almond paste up into blueberry-sized pieces, roll them lightly into balls as best as you can, and toss into the pastry mixture. Whisk together egg, cream and lemon zest and add all at once. Use a spatula to stir gently until the mixture just comes together, then use your hand to knead the dough a few times against the bottom of the bowl to collect it all together and form a ball. Depending on how soft your marzipan/almond paste is, it will marble into the dough a bit.
Divide dough into two, place on prepared sheet, and flatten into roughly two 5-inch disks. Cut each disk into eight wedges and separate them evenly on the baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees until puffed and lightly golden, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Make the icing. Once the scones are cool, in a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar, almond extract and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream. Add more liquid as needed to create a smooth and slightly runny icing. Drizzle icing over cooled scones and top each with a pinch of sliced almonds. Enjoy!

notes

marzipan/almond paste: there is not a lot of difference between these two—one (almond paste) is used primarily for baking, while the other (marzipan) is a confection in its own right. Marzipan is often a bit sweeter and has the added flavor of rose water. To make either one at home is fairly simple, and The Daring Gourmet has a great tutorial on it.