Pine nut and chocolate panellets recipe: how to make them at home in three steps

BarcelonaHere they are, panellets. Since September, many bakeries have started making them, and now that the season is approaching, having the best recipe for making them at home is ideal. For this reason, pastry chef Èric Ortuño of L'Atelier Barcelona explains how to prepare a single dough to which he adds other ingredients to prepare pine cone or chocolate panellets, or whatever your imagination takes you up. They'll all be good. Also, a very important fact: the chef suggests reducing the amount of sugar compared to the almond flour, so the result isn't as sweet. In traditional recipes, the amount of sugar and ground almonds has always been the same, but the master pastry chef at L'Atelier suggests making his own change.

Ingredients for 21 panellets

For the marzipan one

• 150 g of sugar
• 200 g of almond powder
• 2 egg whites
• 2 egg yolks

For the pine nut panellets

• 100 g of pine nuts
• 2 egg yolks

For the chocolate panellets

• 30 g of chocolate pearls
• 30 g of icing sugar
• 10 g of cocoa sticks

Elaboration

First step

1. Start by preparing the marzipan dough. In a bowl, mix the almond flour with the sugar and egg whites, adding them in two batches. First, add a little egg white and knead. Then, add the rest and knead again with your hands. Continue mixing until the sugar has dissolved and all the ingredients are combined.
2. Separate one portion, which you reserve outside the bowl, and the other portion, inside the bowl, is the mixture with the chocolate pearls, which will melt when they're in the oven. Stir and set aside.

Second step

1. Roll out the marzipan dough that didn't have chocolate pearls, which you'll use to make the pine nut panellets. Stretch it with your hands, like a cannelloni. Once done, take a knife and cut the dough into long pieces weighing approximately twenty grams.
2. Next, shape the finished pieces into round shapes with your hands. Set aside.
3. In a baking dish, pour the pine nuts with a little egg yolk. Stir.
4. Take the marzipan ball, coat it with pine nuts and egg yolk, and shape it into a round shape with your hands. Doing this one by one.
5. Take the remaining egg yolk in your hands again, and pass the panellets through your hands again, because this way you will get the panellets to be well browned once cooked.
6. They can now be placed in the oven at 220°C (420°F), cooking very quickly for 3 or 4 minutes maximum, with the oven preheated. You must pay close attention to cooking because the panellets should not be toasted, but merely golden.

Third step

1. Mix the cocoa powder and powdered sugar in a pan, then strain it through a sieve to ensure a smooth, lump-free mixture. Set aside.
2. Roll out the marzipan dough with the chocolate pearls, and then cut it into portions slightly larger than twenty centimeters.
3. Shape them into round shapes with your hands, and roll them in the tray containing the cocoa powder and icing sugar, so that each one is coated.
4. Place them on the baking tray, and then put them in the oven at 220º for three or four minutes maximum.

Enjoy your meal and enjoy a very good Castañada!