Each on November 1, All Saints’ Day, families meet to render homage to their ancestors by visiting the cemetery, adorning their gravestones with flowers and eating the sweets typically served on this solemn occasion.

Panellets are a type of pastry made with almonds, sugar and eggs that are very popular around All Saints’ Day. The dough is a marzipan that comes in many different shapes and flavours to which different dried fruits are added. Although the origin of this sweet is unknown, it is thought to be inherited from the Arabs, who were found of using almonds combined with sugar, honey and spices in desserts.

The truth is that thanks to the simple recipe, many families make these panellets at home nowadays. The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients for the dough base:

500 g raw almonds, crushed very fine
500 g sugar
250 g potatoes
Grated lemon peel

Egg, pine nuts, crushed almonds, dipping chocolate and shredded coconut.


Preparation:

Wash and boil potatoes without peeling in well-salted water. Peel and mash until obtaining a dry purée. Once cold, add the sugar, almonds and lemon peel and mix well with a fork until uniform. Set aside to rest.

Pine nut panellets: make balls out of the dough and dip them in slightly beaten egg. Roll in pine nuts, place on an oven tray and brush with egg yolk.

Almond panellets: Prepare like pine nut panellets, but use crushed almonds instead.

Chocolate panellets: Shape pieces of dough and placed on an oven tray. Dip in chocolate after baking.

Coconut panellets: prepare the same dough as almond panellets, but use shredded coconuts instead of almonds.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180º for 15/20 minutes.